International Surveillance Reports - 2007
International Surveillance Report - 28 April to 11 May 2007 (ISR #10-07)
This report aims to increase awareness of infectious disease outbreaks outside of Australia by providing a summary of major outbreaks rather than a comprehensive list of all outbreaks. This report contains information on outbreaks for the period 28 April to 11 May 2007.
International Surveillance Reports
CHOLERA: Somalia
Medicins Sans Frontieres is warning that the security situation in Somalia is preventing people from seeking treatment for cholera, resulting in a higher than expected case-fatality rate (CFR), which could lead to a humanitarian crisis. Source: Press TV 29 April 2007.CRIMEAN CONGO HAEMORRHAGIC FEVER: Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation
Kazakhstan
On 30 April 2007, the Ministry of Health confirmed a case of Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) from the Kyzyl-Orda region. Local authorities have begun tick (the insect vector of the disease) control programs in the area. Source: ProMED (Kazakhstan Today) 1 May 2007.Russian Federation
Three cases of CCHF were reported from the Astrakhan region in the Southern Federal District of the Russian Federation bordering Kazakhstan. These are the first cases of CCHF reported in the Russian Federation so far this year. Recent warm weather has led to an increase in the density of ticks in the area, raising the risk of infection this season. In 2006, 16 cases (including 1 fatal) were reported from the Astrakhan region of the Southern Federal Districts, where the disease is considered endemic. Source: ProMED (Regnum News Agency) 3 May 2007.DENGUE FEVER: New Caledonia and Southeast Asia
New Caledonia
In mid-March 2007, the Pasteur Institute (New Caledonia) confirmed 3 cases of dengue fever (DEN 1) imported from the Cook Islands or French Polynesia. Four secondary cases (locally acquired) in the north of the capital Noumea were reported in mid-April. Health authorities have declared an outbreak alert in an effort to prevent further local transmission of the virus. Source: Pasteur Institute- Dengue Surveillance Report No.2 2007. (New Caledonia reports a small number of dengue fever cases each year, the majority of them imported from nearby countries. But in 2003 there was an outbreak of dengue in the country with 2,598 confirmed cases including 17 deaths. Source: GIDEON accessed 11 May 2007.)Philippines
Between 1 January and 21 April 2007, the Ministry of Health reported 4,858 hospitalised cases of dengue fever including 54 deaths. This is 15% fewer cases than in the same period of 2006 when the Department of Health reported 5,696 hospitalised cases. The government is focussing dengue control measures on removing breeding habitats, preventing mosquito bites and early case management rather than indiscriminate insecticide fogging. Source: ProMED (People’s Daily Online) 4 May 2007.Thailand
Thai media reported 6,000 cases of dengue fever nationwide including 4 deaths between 1 January and 3 May 2007. The focus of the outbreak is in Trat province (46 cases per 100,000 population compared with only 10 per 100,000 nationwide), 400km southeast of Bangkok and in the southern provinces along the Malaysian border. The number of dengue fever cases is normally higher between May and August due to the rainy season, which provides ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes. Heavy rains also hamper vector control efforts. Source: ProMED (People’s Daily Online) 4 May 2007.INFLUENZA (AVIAN): Global update
There have been no new human cases of H5N1 reported by the WHO since 11 April 2007. The Indonesian Ministry of Health has reported that a 29 yr-old woman from Riau Province in Sumatra died on 3 May 2007 of H5N1 infection. She was hospitalised on 1 May 2007 and her infection was confirmed in local laboratory tests. No contact with poultry has been identified for the case, but investigations are continuing into the source of her infection. Source: Reuters 7 May 2007; WHO Disease Outbreak News accessed 30 April 2007.Top of page
INFLUENZA (SEASONAL): China
China reported decreasing influenza activity in week 17 (22 to 28 April 2007). By week 18 (29 April to 5 May 2007) influenza activity was moderate. Source: WHO FluNet accessed 10 May 2007. (China reported high levels of influenza activity prior to week 17, reported in ISRs #8-07 and #9-07 dated 13 and 27 April 2007.)LEISHMANIASIS: Brazil and India
Brazil (cutaneous)
Brazilian media have reported the first case of cutaneous Leishmaniasis caused by L. amazonensis ever recorded in the state of Rio de Janeiro in the southwest of the country. The case resided in a rural area near a popular tourist resort. L. amazonensis has been spreading from Amazonia in the north and is now commonly found in the states of Bahia, Mato Grosso and Santa Catarina. Source: ProMED (O Globo) 7 May 2007.India (visceral)
Mumbai health authorities have reported 2 cases of visceral Leishmaniasis (caused by L. donovani) in a one month period. Authorities are preparing for a possible outbreak of the disease, which is unlikely because sandflies (the vector of the disease) do not occur in Mumbai. There is a limited supply of the drugs used to treat the disease and authorities are worried that the supply will not be adequate if an outbreak occurs. Mumbai normally reports only one or two cases of visceral Leishmaniasis per year, but it is common in northern parts of India. Source: ProMED (Afternoon, Mumbai) 30 April 2007.MALARIA: Jamaica
Health authorities in Kingston, Jamaica continue to report new cases of malaria, with 11 new cases reported between 1 and 30 April 2007. Control efforts have been hampered by insecticide resistance in some districts and by imported cases of malaria (7 cases since December 2006) from other Caribbean islands, India and Africa. The Ministry of Health is seeking alternative insecticides on advice from the CDC. Source: ProMED (Jamaica Observer) 1 May 2007.Top of page
MEASLES: Canada, Japan, Switzerland and the United States
Canada
The Calgary Health Region reported an imported case of measles in a woman who arrived in Calgary from London on 8 April 2007. Authorities found two further cases of measles (who had been on the same flight from London to Calgary) by tracing approximately 200 possible contacts of the case. Source: Canoe Network 4 May 2007.Japan
Between 16 and 22 April 2007, Japan reported 71 cases of measles in children from the sentinel paediatric clinics surveillance system (approximately 10% of paediatric clinics in the country participate in the surveillance network). This is the highest number of cases reported during any week of 2007. During the same period, sentinel hospitals reported 39 adult cases. Source: WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, 8 May 2007. (In ISR#9-07 dated 27 April 2007, we reported an increase in the number of measles cases in 2007, peaking in the week beginning 14 April 2007 with 32 cases. This report was based on a different surveillance system to that reported here and provides complementary information.)Switzerland
Between 1 March and 5 April 2007, health authorities reported 11 cases of measles from the canton of Geneva. Ten of the cases were known to be unvaccinated and the status of the other case is unknown. Prior to this cluster, the last case of measles reported from the country was in April 2005. Source: Eurosurveillance Weekly, vol. 12, issue 5, 10 May 2007.United States
The Alchua County Health Department (Florida) reported 3 recent cases of measles, the first cases in the County in 20 years. One of the cases was not vaccinated, but the immunisation status of the other two is unclear. Source: ProMED (AM850 Online Health News) 2 May 2007.MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE: Africa
Sudan
The Sudanese Health Minister has commented that the numbers of new cases of meningitis are declining following recent heavy rainfall. Source: ProMED (Sudan Vision Daily) 9 May 2007.Nigeria
Nigerian media have reported an outbreak of meningitis in Jigawa state with a number of deaths including 4 infants. This is the first outbreak reported in the state this season. The state’s Health Minister suggested that the state does not have a serious outbreak of locally-acquired meningococcal meningitis because many of the cases are imported. Source: ProMED (AllAfrica.com) 4 May 2007.MUMPS: Canada
Between mid-March and 4 May 2007, Nova Scotia reported 203 cases of mumps. The outbreak (first reported in ISR#8-07 and updated in #9-07 dated 13 and 27 April 2007) has now spread to other areas including Ontario, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This spread of the disease is expected because many of the Nova Scotia cases were university students who have now returned home for the summer holidays. Source: Xinhua 5 May 2007; ProMED (Toronto Star) 5 May 2007; ProMED (Canada Broadcasting Corporation News) 5 May 2007.Top of page