Travel Health Service Year 2014

Travel Health News Digest (16 September 2014 - 22 September 2014)

Take precautions against dengue fever when travelling abroad

Dengue fever is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. This includes various popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong people including the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Travellers planning to travel in these areas should take precautions against the disease.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2014 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2014	Source of information and date of report
Australia	1,147	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Brazil	511,080	World Health Organization, 12 September 2014
Cambodia	1,520	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Guangdong Taiwan	2,175 2,493	Health authority of Guangdong, 11September 2014 CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 22 September 2014
India	5,218	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 31 July 2014
Japan	197	National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan, 10 September 2014
Lao PDR	1,147	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Malaysia	53,246	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Mexico	54,807	World Health Organization, 12 September 2014
New Caledonia	105	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Philippines	35,264	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014
Singapore	14,964	Singapore National Environment Agency, 18 September 2014
Sri Lanka	30,325	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 19 September 2014
Thailand	23,941	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand,17 September 2014
Vietnam	9,331	World Health Organization, 12 August 2014

Remark:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.

Travellers should stay vigilant against dengue fever and adopt the following personal preventive measures against mosquito bite:

*	Always wear loose, light-coloured long-sleeved tops and trousers;
*	Stay in air-conditioned residence or places with mosquito screens;
*	If mosquito screen or air-conditioning is absent, aerosol insecticide and bed nets are advised;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET on exposed skin and clothing;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET apart from applying sunscreen while staying in beaches;
*	Re-apply insect repellents according to instructions during the trip;
*	Carry a portable bed nets and apply permethrin on it as well as to clothes if travelling to rural areas where dengue fever is prevalent.

Travellers returning from areas where dengue fever is prevalent should seek medical advice as soon as possible if they feel unwell and provide travel details to their doctors.

South Africa: Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever

A man died of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in South Africa. The virus is transmitted mainly by Hyalomma ticks. These ticks are widely distributed in South Africa, but tend to be most numerous in the drier, north-western parts of the country in the Karoo, western Free State, Northern Cape and North-West Province, generally in the rural areas.

(Source: ProMED-mail 19 September 2014)

USA: Enterovirus Infection [Update]

From mid-August to 19 September 2014, a total of 160 people from 22 states of the the United States of America were confirmed to have respiratory illness caused by EV-D68. The 22 states are Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington.

(Source: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention 19 September 2014)

Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ebola virus disease [Update]

As of 15 September 2014, the total number of Ebola virus disease (EVD) reported in Equateur province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is 71 including 40 deaths.