Disease

Dengue Fever

Philippines - Dengue fever is up overall in the Philippines by some 40 percent in 2016 to date, according to the latest data from the Department of Health. In the Davao City area and Region XI, dengue is up by 147 percent, prompting officials to call the situation “alarming”. Cases of Dengue fever in different areas in Davao Region rose from 1,850 cases with seven deaths in June to July 2015 to 4,564 cases with 40 deaths in the same period this year.

Argentina - Argentina Health Minister Jorge Lemus has called dengue fever in the country, including Buenos Aires City, an “epidemic”. To date, Argentina has reported 75,189 probable and 40,072 confirmed dengue fever cases, including 11 deaths, according to the most recent data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The total dengue cases for the western hemisphere to date is 1,712,369 probable and 318,332 confirmed with Brazil accounting for the majority. More than 600 people have died to date.

E Coli Outbreak in England

Public Health England (PHE) officials report an additional 42 cases in England bringing the outbreak total to 151. This is 144 in England, 6 in Wales and 1 in Scotland, with the South West of England particularly affected. 62 of the cases are known to have received hospital care and sadly, 2 of the individuals with E.coli O157 infection have died.

Public Health England has been working to establish the cause of the outbreak and has identified that several of the affected individuals ate mixed salad leaves including rocket leaves prior to becoming unwell. Currently, the source of the outbreak is not confirmed and remains under investigation; they are not ruling out other food items as a potential source.

Zika Virus - Europe

With reports of an additional 32 travel associated Zika virus cases on mainland France, the total case count is now 620 through Jul 13, according to French health authorities.

Fifteen cases of the total case count have been reported in pregnant women and three cases of neurological complications. French health officials have also reported eight sexually transmitted Zika infections since the beginning of the year.

The Zika virus infection case counts in various French overseas territories include 22,190 suspected cases in Guadeloupe, 8,970 suspected cases in French Guiana and 32,960 suspected cases in Martinique.

Throughout Europe, 17 other countries have reported imported Zika virus infections: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

Malnutrition in Nigeria

More than 2300 children, under the age of five, die daily in Nigeria, with malnutrition accounting for over half of the deaths, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH) has disclosed. Findings have shown that over 2.5 million children suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) yearly in Nigeria, with about 20 per cent of these at the risk of imminent death unless there is quick intervention.