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WORLD TRAVEL HEALTH ALERTS –July 13, 2011
- Early swine flu deaths in South Africa
– E.coli kills Arizona man; Toll rises to 51
– New Caledonia stops spread of mozzie virus
– Dengue in the Americas: 6 months of fluctuating fortunes
– Philippines province hit by dengue
– Don’t Bogart that virus, my friend
– Monsoon brings deadly virus to Uttar Pradesh
– Street food behind rise in gastro cases
– Be wary of ticks in European summer
– Call for Rubella vaccination campaign in Vietnam
– Cholera on the rise in Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa
– New surge in global measles menace
– Rabies: the random risk of exposure
Early swine flu deaths in South Africa
Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 (swine flu) has left 2 people dead and 2 others in critical condition in South Africa’s Northern Cape region. There has been a significant increase in swine flu cases since the southern hemisphere winter began and those in high-risk groups are now being vaccinated. More details.
Advice to travellers: The flu season has begun in South Africa, and there are signs that it may also be underway in Australia, according to the WHO’s latest flu bulletin. The southern hemisphere seasonal flu vaccine protects against both the A(H1N1)2009 swine flu and B strains. Influenza is the most common vaccine-preventable illness: Travelvax Australia recommends vaccination for all travellers.
E.coli kills Arizona man; Toll rises to 51
Ge rmany’s deadly E. coli (O104:H4) outbreak has claimed a victim in the USA. A 65-year-old man from Arizona died last week and another 5 people are ill after recently travelling to Germany, or being in close contact with an infected traveller. More details.
In Germany, cases continue more than 2 months after the initial outbreak, and the number of fatalities has now risen to 51. Testing has confirmed patients infected in the German and French outbreaks had identical E.coli strains. More details.
New Caledonia stops spread of mozzie virus
After 32 cases in five months, authorities in Noumea say they have stopped the Pacific’s first outbreak of Chikungunya virus. The mosquito-borne virus was introduced to New Caledonia in March by a traveller returning from Indonesia. More details.
Advice to travellers: Travellers to New Caledonia and any tropical region should continue to cover up and apply an effective insect to exposed skin when outdoors. Look for a repellent with DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. As with dengue, there is no vaccine or preventative medication for Chikungunya. Both viruses are spread by daytime-feeding Aedes mosquitoes.
Dengue in the Americas: 6 months of mixed fortunes
Half-year figures reveal the hit-and-miss nature of outbreaks in the Americas this year.
Mexico has seen a sharp decrease in cases this year – 850 cases (5 deaths), compared to 8000 (18) in 2010. Authorities expect more cases in the remaining months of 2011. Jalisco state had 3 new cases last week.
National figures are also down sharply in El Salvador – 1129 cases compared to 8922 last year.
Colombia has not been so fortunate. Figures for 2011 reveal 17,488 cases, including 778 cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever.
This week’s dengue bulletin also details ongoing epidemics and outbreaks in the Brazilian states of Ceara, Alagoas, Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte), Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo (Rio Claro).
More details.
Advice to travellers: Dengue continues to be a significant risk for Australian travellers to tropical regions of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Personal protection against insect bites is important: Travellers should cover up and regularly apply an insect repellent containing effective active ingredients, such as DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus, to exposed skin at all times when outdoors. The mosquitoes that transmit the dengue virus inhabit urban areas, including leading hotels and resorts, and bite mainly during the day.
Philippines province hit by dengue
In the Philippines, the government has declared a dengue outbreak in 5 of 6 municipalities in the northern-most province of Batanes after 901 cases (1 death) in Sabtang (63 cases), Basco (487 cases), Mahatao (18), Uyugan (47), and Itbayat (286). Nationally, there have been 29,898 cases (185 deaths) this year, down 11% on 33,659 (288 deaths) last year. More details.
Dengue outbreak slows in Maldives
Fewer cases of dengue were reported in the Maldives last week, with new cases on only 4 of the 8 islands most affected by the waning outbreak. This year the island nation in the Indian Ocean has had 8 dengue fatalities – 7 of them children. More details.
Don’t Bogart that virus, my friend
Health authorities in Whistler (British Colombia, Canada) say most of the province’s 90 mumps cases have involved young, male foreign workers who caught the disease after sharing marijuana joints, cigarettes, drinks, and utensils. Mumps is spread by direct contact with the saliva of an infected person and nearly 60% of local cases have been among 20-something males employed either by the mountain ski resort or in the region’s hospitality and retail sectors. More details.
Monsoon brings deadly virus to Uttar Pradesh
India’s monsoon rains have brought a sharp rise in fatalities from Japanese encephalitis (JE) and acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in 7 high-risk districts of Uttar Pradesh. The districts worst affected by AES are Gorakhpur (111 cases, 21 deaths), closely followed by Deoria (109, 15), and Kushinagar (103, 22). The three regions have also reported JE cases, as have Basti, Siddharthanagar, Sant Kabir Nagar, and Maharajganj. More details.
Advice to travellers: India is endemic for mosquito-borne JE and the transmission season is now underway. Travellers whose itinerary may put them at risk should discuss their plans with a travel health professional at Travelvax (landline toll-free 1300 360 164). Australians heading to any rural or urban areas of India should also consider anti-malaria medication, and use an effective insect repellent at all times when outdoors.
Street food behind rise in gastro cases
Health authorities in the cities of San Luis Rio Colorado (Sonora, Mexico) and Yuma (Arizona, USA) have warned against eating food from street vendors after 16 recent cases of gastrointestinal illnesses linked to Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in the border region. More details.
Be wary of ticks in European summer
Travellers spending time outdoors during Europe’s northern summer should be wary of tick bites after a rise in tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) on the Continent this year.
In Austria, cases of TBE have been almost double last year’s tally – 37 compared to 20. Transmission occurs throughout Austria up to 1560 metres. More details.
The number of TBE cases and fatalities continues to rise in Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast. Since the beginning of the season this northern summer, 42,488 people have been treated for tick bites, an increase of 73.8% on the annual average and 45.2% more than last year’s total. More details.
Advice to travellers: Tick diseases present a low risk for most travellers. For those spending long periods outdoors in forest and woodland areas of Europe, vaccination offers very effective protection. Before vaccination became widespread in 1981, Austria had the highest TBE rates in Western Europe. Slovenia and the Czech Republic now share that dubious distinction. Call Travelvax on 1300 360 164 for more advice.
Call for Rubella vaccination campaign in Vietnam
Rubella (German measles) rates are at a 5-year high in Vietnam this year, prompting calls for a vaccination campaign targeting women of child-bearing age, and children. More details.
Advice to travellers: German measles is highly contagious. The virus poses a high risk of injury to a foetus during the first three months of pregnancy and vaccination is especially important for young women.
Cholera on the rise in Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa
AMERICAS
Puerto Rico: The US island's first case of cholera is linked to the current outbreak in neighboring Dominican Republic. More details.
EUROPE
Ukraine: Mariupol (Donetsk region) has recorded 22 cases of cholera. More details.
ASIA
Hong Kong: Authorities are investigating this year’s first cholera case, a 25-year-old man with no recent history of travel. More details.
Pakistan: Four cases were reported in Karachi last week. More details.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (previously North West Frontier province) cholera was confirmed among the 520 cases of gastroenteritis in Mansehra district last week. More details.
Nepal: Doctors in Kathmandu have warned against drinking water in the nation’s capital after more than 100 cases of cholera and acute diarrhoea in the past fortnight. More details.
Afghanistan: Several dozen deaths have been recorded as cholera continues to spread in Kandahar and Zabul provinces. More details.
South Korea: A traveller was diagnosed with cholera after visiting Delhi and Varanasi in India. More details.
India: Contaminated drinking water caused 66 cases of cholera in a village in Gujarat district’s Navsari district. More details.
AFRICA
Zimbabwe: A fresh outbreak of cholera in the town of Chiredzi (Masvingo province) in southeastern Zimbabwe has claimed 9 lives and seen almost 200 people hospitalized. More details.
Meanwhile, severe diarrhoea has killed 10 children and sickened another 200 in Bulawayo in recent weeks. More details.
Ghana: Cholera flared last week in Moree, a fishing community near Cape Coast (Central Region), with 55 cases and 2 deaths recorded. More details.
Nigeria: There have been more than 100 cases of cholera in the towns of Bajoga (Funakaye Local Government Area) and Nafada (Nafada LGA) in recent weeks. More details.
In Minna, capital of the Nigerian state of Niger, 457 cases (13 deaths) were recorded in June. More details.
Advice to travellers: For most short-stays, the risk of cholera is low. For those heading to areas where cholera is endemic or outbreaks are occurring, it is important to practice strict personal hygiene and make safe food and beverage choices. For advice on a particular journey and whether vaccination should be considered, call Travelvax on 1300 360 164.
New surge in global measles menace
Fresh measles outbreaks and ongoing epidemics continued to cause concern around the world last week.
In Europe, authorit ies in Switzerland warn the country’s epidemic has slowed, but not stopped, after 44 new cases in 4 days last week took the year’s total to more than 600. There were 17 cases recorded in the southern Russian oblast of Astrakhan.
In Africa, civil war and shortages of food and medical supplies are hampering efforts to stem a measles epidemic in Libya, as the Red Cross warns of an impending crisis in the city of Sabha. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major outbreak in Kongolo (Katanga province) has left 6 children dead and hundreds more infected. More details.
In North America, authorities in Mexico are concerned at the risk of measles from European and other foreign visitors attending the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara (Jalisco state) in October. They have declared a measles alert and are advising vaccination for people aged from one to 39. More details.
In Florida, measles cases are at a 14-year high, with authorities worried that vaccination rates are falling in many communities. More details.
Cases have been reported in Lagrange County (Indiana) and in Seneca county (New York).
In the Pacific, the number of cases in Auckland is now at 61 and rising. Authorities fear the disease will spread to other parts of New Zealand and the Pacific during school holidays. More details.
Advice to travellers: Measles transmission shows no sign of slowing. Australian travellers who have not had measles or have not received two documented doses of live virus vaccine should consider a booster as part of their pre-travel vaccination regime – regardless of their destination. As part of their pre-travel medical preparations, travellers should also check their immunisation status for childhood diseases such as whooping cough, diphtheria, mumps, and polio.
Rabies: the random risk of exposure
Attacks by rabies-infected animals recently demonstrate the random nature of the disease and the need for travellers to be aware of the risk.
In India, a rabid dog attacked at least 44 people and at least one dog in Panaji (Goa) last Thursday. Authorities are trying to determine if other people or animals were bitten by the infected animal, which was captured and later died. More details.
In the USA, a kitten and an adult cat attacked 4 people in separate incidents in northwestern New Jersey (USA) last week. More details.
While rabies is commonly associated with dogs, health authorities in Mbabane (Swaziland) are on alert after three dogs, a cat, a p ig, and a cow tested positive for the deadly virus in the last fortnight. More details.
Advice to travellers: Generally, rabies presents a low risk to most travellers, but the potential for exposure rises for longer stays – especially for children. Dog bites cause 99% of human fatalities and rabies immunoglobulin for rapid post-exposure treatment is in short supply globally. India has the highest incidence of rabies. Travellers should avoid any contact with wild and domestic animals, and seek urgent post-exposure treatment if bitten. To discuss the risk of rabies for your itinerary, call Travelvax on 1300 360 164.
Travelvax Australia compiles this weekly bulletin of global travel health alerts, risk assessments and advice for the information of Australian travellers and the travel industry. Please contact our travel health advisory service on 1300 360 164 for broad destination-specific advice and vaccination recommendations. Recommended vaccines, travel medication, trip-specific advice and accessories are available during a medical consultation with a travel health professional at any of Travelvax Australia’s 32 clinics. Visit our website or call 1300 360 164 for details. |
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