We will inform you about the latest infectious disease outbreaks from overseas. Read the previous articles.
Information as of May 2, 2024
Avian Influenza A(H9N2) |19 April 2024| Viet Nam
The patient is a 37-year-old male from Tien Giang Province, Viet Nam, who had underlying conditions. The patient developed a fever on 10 March 2024 and was admitted to the hospital on 16 March. Following a diagnosis of severe pneumonia with bilateral pleural effusions, he was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) on 21 March and received treatment with oseltamivir and antibiotics. As of 15 April, the patient was still in severe condition and under intensive care.
Rabies|10 April 2024|Timor-Leste
On 20 March, the patient presented to a local health center with symptoms including high fever, vomiting, sore throat, cough, difficulty swallowing food, hydrophobia, photophobia, back pain, and neck stiffness. It was reported that she was bitten on the hands by a dog on 26 December 2023 in Oecusse. During the investigation, residents described the dog as very aggressive, and reported that it had not bitten anyone else. The dog died and was buried on 27 December 2023. The patient had not received rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) after the dog bite. On 21 March, she was transferred to Guido Valadares National Hospital (HNGV) in the capital city of Dili and died on 22 March 2024.
Epidemiological update Cholera in the Region of the Americas – 26 April 2024|27 Apr 2024 |Pan American Health Organization
In October 2022, after three years with no confirmed cases of cholera, Haitian health authorities reported confirmed cases of Vibrio cholerae O1 in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. Since then, in the Region of the Americas, cases have been reported in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Epidemiological Update – Chikungunya in the Region of the Americas – 22 April 2024|23 Apr 2024 |Pan American Health Organization
Between epidemiological week (EW) 1 and EW 52 of 2023, 410,754 cases of chikungunya, including 419 deaths, were reported in 17 of the countries and territories in the Region of the Americas. This figure is higher than that observed in the same period in 2022 (273,841 cases, including 87 deaths) and is the highest number of cases reported in recent years. In 2024, up to EW 14, 186,274 cases were reported, including 60 deaths due to chikungunya, with 97% of the cases reported in Brazil (n=180,600)
Epidemiological Update – Oropouche in the Region of the Americas – 12 April 2024|12 Apr 2024 |Pan American Health Organization
Oropouche virus is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of the midge, Culicoides paraensis, which is present in the Region of the Americas, but it can also be transmitted by the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus.
Call for Experts: Regional Validation Committee (RVC) on the Elimination of Mother-…|30 April 2024|African Region
The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members one of the Regional Validation Committee (RVC) on the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (eMTCT) of HIV, Syphilis and Hepatitis B.
Boosting efforts to transform care for severe chronic diseases in Africa|26 April 2024|African Region
Dar es Salaam – Health experts from across Africa, policymakers, civil society organizations and partners meeting for the first-ever conference on strengthening efforts to address the burden of severe chronic disease have called for increased recognition of the emergency presented by noncommunicable diseases and the premature deaths they cause.
Pioneering charter to drive up investment in Africa’s health workforce|25 April 2024|African Region
Brazzaville – A pioneering health investment charter, a first for the African region, is set to be launched at the African Health Workforce Investment Forum which will take place in Windhoek, Namibia from 6 – 8 May 2024. Key stakeholders will gather to consolidate efforts to drive up investment to counter critical health worker shortages.
Major step in malaria prevention as three West African countries roll out vaccine |25 April 2024|African Region
Cotonou/Freetown/Monrovia — In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countries—Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone—today launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.
Source:https://www.afro.who.int/countries/benin/news/major-step-malaria-prevention-three-west-african-countries-roll-out-vaccine
Over 50 million lives saved in Africa through expanded immunization programme|24 April 2024|African Region
Brazzaville—An estimated 51.2 million lives have been saved through vaccines in the African region over the past 50 years. For every infant life saved over that period, close to 60 years of life are lived, a new report by World Health Organization (WHO) finds.