Current Travel Health Alerts
AUSTRALIA: 9 deaths from soil disease/ BORNEO: New surge of HFMD/ BRAZIL: Yellow fever alert; Dengue cases rising in Mato Grosso/ CAMBODIA: 400% rise in dengue cases/ INDIA: WHO says rabies risk ‘high’; Mystery disease toll passes 100/ MEXICO: Sinaloa, San Luis Potosi on dengue alert
AUSTRALIA: 9 deaths from soil disease
In the Northern Territory, 9 people have died among a record 97 cases of melioidosis, a soil-borne disease that surfaces during the wet season. The Top End has seen a spike in case numbers in recent years, possibly due to unusually heavy wet seasons. Read more.
Advice to travellers: Melioidosis mainly occurs in tropical climates, especially in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, where it is endemic. The bacteria (Burkholderia pseudomallei) that cause melioidosis are found in contaminated water and soil. Wear shoes or boots (not thongs) and avoid direct contact with soil and standing water, especially if you have open skin wounds. People with diabetes or chronic renal disease are at higher risk of infection. Read more on melioidosis.
BORNEO: New surge of HFMD
More than 400 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have been reported in the last month, including 125 between May 28 and June 3. Read more.
Advice to travellers: Epidemics of HFMD have been widespread in Asia. Generally benign, the virus mainly affects young children, with symptoms including fever, oral lesions, and rash on the hands, feet and buttocks. There is no vaccine or preventative medication, but good hygiene will greatly reduce the risk of infection.
BRAZIL: Yellow fever alert; Dengue cases rising in Mato Grosso
The death of two monkeys from yellow fever in the cities of Santa Maria and Barros Cassal in Rio Grande do Sul State has prompted an urgent vaccination campaign of people in and near the affected areas to avoid human transmission. Read more (translated ProMED Alert, June 12)
CUIABA (Mato Grosso state) recorded 8365 cases of dengue to June 1, with the Pedra 90 recording the highest number (904) by far. Read more (translated ProMED Alert, June 11)
Advice to travellers: A yellow fever vaccine provider can advise you on whether or not you should be immunised. Although yellow fever is generally a low risk for travellers, the mosquito-borne disease is endemic in Brazil and returning travellers may be required to show proof of vaccination when entering certain countries, including Australia. Australians travelling to Brazil face a higher risk of dengue – regardless of their type of accommodation or length of stay – as the Aedes mosquitoes are daytime feeders that inhabit urban areas. The most important way to protect against all mosquito borne diseases is to avoid being bitten. Cover up when mosquitoes are biting and apply repellent containing an active ingredient, such as DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus.
CAMBODIA: 400% rise in dengue cases
The 4434 dengue cases (21 deaths) recorded already this year represent a 4-fold increase on the 2011 figures. More cases seem certain during the May-October rainy season. Read more.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Cholera now widespread
Cholera has now claimed nearly 400 lives and affected 19,100 people since January 2012, according to the UN. Eight of DRC’s 11 provinces are affected. Read more.
Advice to travellers: Australians travelling to DCR and other regions where cholera is endemic or outbreaks are occurring should adhere to strict personal hygiene guidelines and choose food and beverages with care. However, for most short-stay travellers, the risk of cholera is low. Our travel health professionals can provide further advice on whether you should consider vaccination for your trip. Call 1300 360 164 4- 6 weeks before departure.
INDIA: WHO says rabies risk ‘high’; Mystery disease toll passes 100
The WHO has changed India’s rabies risk rating to ‘high’ following the recent death of a British woman infected while on holiday. Read more.
The mysterious disease that causes encephalitis has now killed 102 children in Bihar. The most recent deaths have been in the Muzaffarpur, Gaya and Patna districts. Read more.
Advice to travellers: According to WHO estimates, some 36% of the world's 55,000 rabies deaths occur in India each year – 75% of them from dog bites in rural areas. The risk for short-stay visitors is generally low, but rises for longer stays – especially for children. Travellers should avoid any contact with wild and domestic animals. It is vital not only to treat a wound correctly and effectively, but to seek post-exposure treatment as soon as possible. Read more on rabies, vaccination and post-exposure treatment.
MEXICO: Sinaloa, San Luis Potosi on dengue alert
There are fears of a dengue epidemic in Mazatlan (Sinaloa state) following 42 suspected cases last week. Authorities in Tamazunchale (San Luis Potosi State) are on alert for more cases following a death due to dengue haemorrhagic fever. Read more (ProMED Alert, June 11)
Four recent cases of dengue in Jalisco State have raised the state’s year-to-date total to 52.
NIGERIA: Polio returns to Kaduna
There have been 5 new cases of polio in Kaduna state, an area that had been free of the disease for 3 years. Polio cases rose by 185% from 2010 to 2011 and said the country ‘represents an imminent risk to west and central Africa’, according to the WHO. Read more.
Advice to travellers: Travelvax advises travellers to check their immunisation status for childhood diseases such as polio, whooping cough, diphtheria, and mumps 4-6 weeks prior to departure. A polio booster is recommended for travellers visiting Nigeria and other polio-endemic areas who have not been vaccinated in the past 10 years.
PAKISTAN: Sindh wracked by measles
With 737 cases and 27 deaths this year, Singh province is at the centre of a measles epidemic that has infected 2143 people nationwide. Other hard-hit areas include Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (648), Punjab (582), Balochistan (102), the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (49), and Islamabad (14). Officials concede cases are heavily under-reported and predict as many as 21,000 children could be infected by December. Read more.
PARAGUAY: Dengue toll tops 21,000
There have been 21,000 confirmed dengue cases, with 48 confirmed and 33 suspected deaths. Read more (ProMED Alert, June 11)
PHILIPPINES: Dengue widespread
Cebu City is the epicentre of a dengue epidemic in the Central Visayas region, which has now resulted in 2829 cases.
Meanwhile, Western Visayas has registered 1472 cases (26 deaths) this year.
Health officials have declared an outbreak of dengue in Santiago City (Isabela Province) after a fourth death dengue this year, while the number of cases in Zamboanga City (Mindanao Island) as soared to 1053, including 14 deaths.
SINGAPORE: Dengue descends on Ang Mo Kio
The largest dengue outbreak this year has hit the north-eastern metro region of Ang Mo Kio, with 53 people infected. Read more.
SOMALIA: Measles campaigns blocked
Measles continues to rage across Somalia. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) alone has treated almost 4300 people this year, but in several areas authorities have refused to allow MSF conduct vaccination campaigns. Read more.
SOUTH AFRICA: Rabies deaths in KwaZulu-Natal
The north-eastern KwaZulu-Natal Province is experiencing a serious outbreak of rabies, with 3 deaths in the past month and more than 50 animal cases. Read more.
UNITED KINGDOM: Legionnaires’ peaks in Scotland; Measles outbreaks in Ireland, England
After 88 cases and 1 death, Edinburgh’s Legionnaires' outbreak appears to be over. Contaminated vapour from a cooling tower in the city’s south west may have caused the outbreak, authorities say. Read more.
IN IRELAND, the number of measles cases in West Cork has climbed to 51. Most are teenagers and almost all had not been vaccinated. Read more.
HEALTH authorities blame low vaccination rates for 36 measles cases in the London suburb of Hackney last month. Read more.
In England’s Sussex County, there has been a measles outbreak at a school in Lewes. Read more.
UGANDA: New surge of mystery disease
There have been 119 new cases of ‘nodding disease’ in Lamwo (41) and Kitgum (78), with the cause of the mystery disease still unknown. More than 7000 cases, mainly among children, have been registered since 2009, but with an increasing number of adults affected. Read more.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Fatal E.coli outbreak; 9 states hit by whooping cough
CDC officials are investigating the sources of an outbreak of E.coli which has killed one person and infected at least 14 others in Alabama (2 cases), California (1), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Louisiana (4), and Tennessee (1). Read more
Outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) are continuing in at least 9 states, including Washington (Island County, Grant County, and Skagit County, Montana (Flathead County), Maine, Utah (Utah County), Florida (Hillsborough County), Wisconsin (Pierce County), Iowa, Oregon, Kansas (Johnson County), and New York (Niagara County). Read more (ProMED Alert, June11th).
VIETNAM: Dioxin poisoning suspected in deaths; City grapples with dengue, HFMD
In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), doctors now suspect exposure to dioxin may be behind the bizarre skin disease which has killed 24 people and hospitalised 214 others from the Ba To district. The victims, mainly children, have suffered severe damage to their liver, kidneys, and heart. Read more.
THERE were 650 cases of dengue in the city in May – a rise of 27% on April – with the Hospital for Tropical Diseases now treating an average of 40 new patients each day. Infection rates are expected to rise with the wet season looming.
HCMC has also had more than 900 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in May – up 14% on April’s figure. Read more.
