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Indonesia - Sinabung Volcano
Today, Sinabung volcano on Sumatra erupted for the first time in hundreds of years. Ash emissions reached a height of 1.500 m. At least 12,000 people were evacuated.

Greece - West Nile Virus Infection
As of August 10th, Greece confirmed 21 human cases of West Nile Virus Infection, including 2 deaths in Central Macedonia.

Peru - Plague (Human)
In the first 7 months of this year, the Ministry of Health in Peru confirmed a total of 17 cases of Plague in Ascope province of Department La Libertad. Of these, 4 are pneumonic plague, 12 are bubonic plague and one was septicemic plague. The onset of symptoms for the last reported case of pneumonic plague was on 11 July 2010.

Thailand - Cholera
The Ministry of Public Health of Thailand has reported 1.341 cases of Cholera in the first 7 months this year. Five of these died.

India - Japanese Encephalitis
Since the beginning of this year, already 149 fatal cases of Japanese Encephalitis have been reported in Uttar Pradesh State.

India - Flooding
Heavy rain had caused floods and mudslides in the Himalayan region of Ladakh in northern India.

Pakistan - Flooding and Cholera
Heavy monsoon rains since July 2010 had caused flooding in many areas of Pakistan. As of 8 August 2010, 1.203 people were killed, the majority in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. There were at least 36.000 cases of acute watery diarrhoea reported in the flood-stricken areas, out of which 1 case of Cholera was confirmed.

Russia - Wildfires
Health Alert and Advice for Travellers to Russia, including Moscow.
- Currently, certain regions of Russia (Moscow included) are in a state of emergency because of the wildfires.
- Travellers should be on the alert for possible health hazards and are also advised to take targeted precautions when travelling to Moscow/Russia.
- The pollutants arising from the wildfires in Moscow are known to be able to initiate heart and lung diseases besides exacerbating pre-existing ones.
In addition, the elderly and the young are particularly susceptible.
- The Russian Department of Health is networking with international and regional authorities to monitor the situation for best risk assessment and management.
- Travellers to Moscow and affected areas in Russia are advised to take the following precautions:
Before departure,
1. monitor the latest development of Moscow's situation;.
2. check for visibility and air quality reports; patients with heart and lung problems may want to consult their attending physicians and should in any case carry sufficient medications;
While in Russia/Moscow,
3. wear appropriate clothing and drink more non-alcoholic drinks to avoid heat-related illnesses; and
4. avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
5. Heart or lung disease victims, the elderly and children are advised to remain indoor and keep activity levels low.
6. For clarification, paper masks commonly available on the market cannot offer protection against the small particles found in wildfire smoke. Special designs with valves are needed for this purpose.

Indonesia/Bali - Rabies (Update)
At least 76 fatal cases of human Rabies in Bali has been reported officially in the past 2 years. The latest victim was a 40-year-old woman and she died a week ago. In addition, more than 30.000 dog bites were reported in the first 6 months of this year across Bali. The Ministry of Health of Bali is facing a shortage of rabies vaccines for human and needs help. A handful of foreign tourists have reported dog bites, but none have been fatal.
Travellers should avoid contact with animals, including dogs, cats, monkeys, squirrels and bats. Immunisation (both pre-exposure and post-exposure), combined with thorough wound cleaning, is the most reliable methods of preventing rabies. Travellers visiting Bali with prolonged stay or anticipated contact with animals should seek medical consultation for pre-travel health advice and pre-exposure rabies vaccination if indicated.

Taiwan - Dengue Fever
The number of recorded indigenous Dengue Fever cases in Taiwan has risen to 12. Most cases are reported in the southern city of Kaohsiung.

Maldives - Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever infection is on the rise at Maledives, especially in Male. Up to 1st week of July, 473 cases have been reported this year. Children are the main victims. There have been no fatalities reported so far.

Greece - Measles
A Measles outbreak of 126 reported cases in Greece has been ongoing since January 2010, of which, 78 are children aged 0-14 years. Cases are mostly unvaccinated. Measures were taken to raise clinical awareness and vaccination of high risk population groups was undertaken.

Cote D' Ivoire - Yellow Fever
Since May 2010, Cote D' Ivoire has reported 19 cases of Yellow Fever with 2 deaths.

Mexico - Rickettsiosis
In Mexico, the Ministry of Public Health of Sonora reported that there have been a total of 44 Rickettsiosis cases with 5 deaths this year. Most cases have occurred in the southern region of Sonora, and the disease is spread by the bites of lice, ticks, fleas and mites.

Israel – Mumps
An outbreak of Mumps with 3.400 cases has been reported in Israel since January 2010. 2.400 of them occurred in the Jerusalem area alone (compared to 6 to 10 cases during an ordinary year).

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Yellow fever
Last month, the DR of Congo reported a fatal case of suspected Yellow fever in Orientale province (northern part of the country). The case was a 43 year-old male farmer who had onset of symptoms on 15 March and died a few days later. He had no history of yellow fever vaccination. Between March and June, 11 other suspected cases were reported, including two deaths.

Thailand - Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
More than 70 cases of children with Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease were reported in Phuket/Thailand so far this year.

Central America and Caribbean - Dengue Fever
Outbreaks of Dengue Fever were reported in Central American and Caribbean countries. The countries with reported outbreaks included Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize and Honduras.

Indonesia - Avian Influenza (Human)
Indonesia has announced one new human case of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The victim was a 14-year-old female from Sukoharjo regency of Central Java. She died a few weeks ago. A total of 167 cases with 138 deaths have been reported in Indonesia so far.

Southeast Asia - Dengue Fever
As of 10 July this year, Thailand reported 36.087 cases of suspected Dengue Fever and 36 deaths nationwide.
As of 26 June, the Philippines reported a total of 25.283 Dengue Fever cases with 190 deaths nationwide this year. This represented a 40% increase in cases as compared with the same period last year.
In Vietnam, 17.011 cases of Dengue Fever including 17 deaths have been reported in the country so far this year.
In Singapore, 69 cases of Dengue Fever have been reported in the Cairnhill area. Of these, 42 cases work at the same construction site.

Venezuela - Dengue Fever
As of 19 June 2010, Venezuela reported a total of 48.581 Dengue Fever cases, which had increased more than 80 percent as compared with last year. The states most affected are Miranda, Merida, and the Capital District of Caracas.

Taiwan - Japanese Encephalitis
In Taiwan, 3 more cases of Japanese Encephalitis have been reported, making a total of 14 cases so far this year. One of the 3 new cases was imported from Guangdong Province in China Mainland.

India - Malaria
In India, a total of 22.159 cases of Malaria was reported in Mumbai as of 10 June this year. In addition, 82 cases of the disease have been reported in the state of Kerala so far this year.

China - Rabies (Human)
In Guangdong Province of China Mainland, 19 more fatal human cases of Rabies were reported, bringing to a total of 122 deaths in the first half of this year. More than half of the deaths were children and elderly being left at home. There had been an increase in the human rabies death in the Guangdong Province since 1996, with an annual death toll of over 300 in the last two years. Human rabies cases occurred mainly in the rural areas and were mostly due to dog bites.

Italy - Rabies (Animal)
An outbreak of Rabies among animals was reported in northern Italy and 199 animal cases were noted in the country in the first half of this year. Most of the affected animals were foxes.

Peru - Plague (Human)
An outbreak of Pneumonic Plague infecting 3 people was detected in Trujillo, Peru. The first case was a 29-year-old woman from the district of Chocope. She had symptoms of high fever, abdominal pain and shortness of breath. A 32-year-old resident doctor who had treated the infected woman and a 4th-year medical student who also had contact with this patient developed the same symptoms as her. This is the first time this disease has been recorded in the country.

Zambia - Measles
An outbreak of Measles affecting 3.000 people with 62 deaths was reported in Zambia.

United Kingdom - Tuberculosis
There were 9.153 cases of Tuberculosis reported in United Kingdom last year. Almost 45 percent of all childhood cases in the country occurred in London.

Worldwide - Pandemic Influenza (H1N1) 2009
As of 4 July 2010, worldwide more than 214 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including over 18.311 deaths.

India - Japanese Encephalitis
India has raised an epidemic alert in the state of Manipur after 3 fatal cases of suspected Acute Encephalitis Syndrome has been reported. More than 100 suspected cases have been found mostly in the valley districts of the state. Laboratory confirmation of Japanese Encephalitis is pending.

Myanmar - Plague (Human)
An outbreak of human Plague has been reported in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.

China - Anthrax (Human)
In the Mainland, 5 cases of cutaneous Anthrax have been reported recently in Gongzhuling city, Jilin province.

Mongolia - Anthrax, (Human and livestock)
In Mongolia, 3 confirmed and 7 suspected human cases of Anthrax were reported in Selenge. Anthrax also occurred in the livestock of the region.

Russia - Measles
In Russia, a number of confirmed cases of Measles have been reported in Amur Oblast over the last few months. Epidemiological investigation has shown that many of the infected people recently visited China.

South Africa - Measles
As of 29 June, 16.594 cases of Measles have been reported in South Africa this year. In addition, Australia has reported a confirmed case of Measles in a traveller returning to Australia after attending world cup matches in South Africa.

Africa - Rift Valley Fever (Human and livestock)
As of 9 July 2010, South Africa has confirmed a total of 227 human cases of Rift Valley Fever and 25 deaths. The outbreaks of the disease in the livestock were also found in the farms.
In Namibia, outbreaks of Rift Valley Fever in the livestock have been reported at 6 more farms, bringing the total number of farms to 14.
In Botswana, an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever among livestock has been reported in a village in Gaborone, and it is the first recorded case of the disease in the country.

Indonesia - Avian Influenza (Human)
The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced one new human case of H5N1 Avian Influenza. The victim was a 34-year-old female from Jakarta. She developed symptoms on 25 May and died on 1 June. A total of 166 cases with 137 deaths have been reported in Indonesia so far.

Honduras - Dengue Fever
Honduras raised a red alert for Dengue Fever after 10 people died and some 11.000 contracted the mosquito-borne disease.

India - Rabies (Human)
With a rise in the dog bite cases in Panchkula of Haryana state, India and its periphery, there has been a substantial increase in the number of Rabies patients recently. Five to six rabies patients visit the General Hospital every day. More than 100 cases of dog bites were reported at the hospital in May 2010.

France - Measles
In France, more than 2.000 cases of Measles have been reported since the beginning of 2010. Only 1,544 cases were reported last year.

Panama - Eastern Equine Encephalitis
The Ministry of Health of Panama has confirmed 2 new cases of Equine Encephalitis in children. Up to now, 17 confirmed cases with 1 death have been reported. There are 63 suspected cases of the disease under observation in their homes, and most cases are from the province of Darien.

Republic of the Congo - Acute Haemorrhagic Fever
WHO has received preliminary reports of five suspected cases, including three deaths, with Acute Haemorrhagic Fever from Mokouangonda, an isolated forest village of about 100 inhabitants in Mokoke district, Region of Sangha, in northern Republic of the Congo. Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases tested negative for several Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers (Eloba, Marburg, Crimean-Congo, Arenavirus), and additional laboratory investigations are ongoing.
The 3 deaths were male forest hunters who presented the symptoms of nose bleeding, bloody diarrhea, cough and fever prior to deaths after a 1-2 week long hunting expedition in the Odzala national Park.
(Acute Haemorrhagic Fever can be attributable to Lassa Fever, Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, Yellow Fever, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, Ebola Haemorrhagic Fever, Marburg Haemorrhagic Fever, Rift Valley Fever, and other viral, bacterial or rickettsial diseases with the potential to cause epidemics.)

Indonesia/Bali - Rabies (Update)
Bali's rabies situation remains out of control. This situation underscores the importance of getting current information regarding a local situation. If a traveler is bitten in Bali, they will need to get PEP in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok or Australia. This will mean trip interruption, even if they have had the 3-dose PREP prior to travel. Modern vaccine is scarce or unavailable in Bali, as well as RIG.
For more information, go to www.promedmail.org

Worldwide - Rabies
New Rabies Control Document
Hi all,
this is FYI, latest in numerous efforts/research on rabies control. This 'online only' blueprint is the result of expert collaboration with the intent of providing public health, government, and other concerned health providers with a standardized platform/guide for rabies control and prevention collating other international resources. This should be particularly useful in rabies-endemic countries with limited resources. The English version is online, the French being finalized, and other languages to follow in due course. I hope our members who are involved in this area find the document useful.
Please visit: www.rabiesblueprint.com

Source: WHO, CDC, ISID, Eurosurveillance, ProMED, RKI, OIE, Volcanolive, Int. Press,...

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