Disease

El Niño Pathogens

The strengthening El Niño ocean warming in the tropical Pacific threatens a resurgence of tropical disease, according to the World Health Organisation. The agency’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warns that the weather phenomenon “could increase transmission of dengue and other so-called arboviruses, such as Zika and chikungunya.”

That’s because they are carried by mosquitoes, which thrive in the warmer weather El Niño is predicted to bring to parts of the world. Increases in mosquito-borne disease are already occurring from South America to Southeast Asia. Peru has just seen its worst dengue outbreak on record, putting the country’s health care system under increased stress.

Disease

Dengue Fever - Peru

In a follow-up on the dengue fever situation in Peru, health authorities reported an additional 14,885 cases the week ending June 17, bringing the total for 2023 to 161,471. This compares to the 43,899 cases reported during the same period in 2022.

Dengue Fever - Laos

In a follow-up on the dengue fever situation in Laos, the Center of Information and Education for Health under the Lao Ministry of Health reports 6,488 total cases through June 27 including the first death of the year.

Gonorrhea - Netherlands

According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), more sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were reported in 2022 as compared to 2021. Of all STIs, the increase in gonorrhea was greatest in 2022. With 10,600 diagnoses, this is an increase of 33% compared to 2021, when there were 7,964 cases.

Disease

Plague - Colorado, USA

Montezuma County Public Health has identified a human case of plague in a Montezuma County resident. The case in under investigation.

Leptospirosis, Typhoid - Fiji

In Fiji, the Eastern Division is currently experiencing a leptospirosis outbreak in Kadavu Medical Subdivision as of June 22. Since the beginning of the outbreak, there have been 29 confirmed cases, 42 hospital admissions, and 1 death. Consequently, a red alert for leptospirosis is added. Leptospirosis is a disease spread by animal urine..

As of 22 June 2023, 32 cases of typhoid have been reported in the Northern Division. Since the beginning of the outbreak, there have been 18 cases reported in Macuata, 11 cases reported in Bua and 3 cases in Cakaudrove Subdivision. Consequently, a red alert for typhoid fever is added.

Disease

Bird Flu - Poland

According to Poland’s Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), results from testing on samples taken from dead cats from Lublin and Poznań became available: On June 26, 11 samples were tested at the National Veterinary Institute in Puławy, of which 9 gave a positive result for H5N1 influenza.

Disease

Monkeypox - Los Angeles, USA

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) is alerting residents and health care providers about a concerning increase in mpox cases, with six new cases reported in Los Angeles County in the past week, up from an average of less than one case per week during the preceding four weeks.

Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever - Iraq

The Iraqi Ministry of Health reported that more than 250 cases of Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and more than 35 deaths have been recorded in all governorates of the country, since the beginning of 2023.

Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever - Pakistan

In the week ending June 17, a total of 35 new cases of CCHF (11 cases were confirmed positive by PCR and one was confirmed by Elisa) and no new associated death were reported. According to the World Health Organization, a total of 359 cases were reported from 27 provinces since the beginning of 2023.

Dengue Fever

Bangladesh - In a follow-up on the dengue fever outbreak in Bangladesh this year, health officials have reported some 2,000 hospitalizations over the past week. After reporting 399 additional dengue hospitalizations Saturday, the total for the country since the beginning of the year has reached 7,238, up from 5,231 one week ago. Three additional dengue fatalities bring the country total to 45.

Sri Lanka - Current situation Sri Lanka’s National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) reports in an update today that the number of dengue cases reported in the country has risen to 47,964. 50% of cases are reported from the Western Province.

Disease

Schistosomiasis - Brazil

Schistosomiasis is present in most Brazilian states, but mainly in the Northeast and Southeast regions. The states of Alagoas, Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Sergipe, Espírito Santo, Maranhão and Minas Gerais are endemic, with established transmission.

Between January 2010 and October 2022, more than 10.7 million tests were performed in these endemic areas of Brazil, with the detection of S. mansoni eggs in 410,654 (3.8%) of the stool samples examined. There were also 23,333 (0.2%) results with severe infections, with 17 or more eggs detected. In the same period, 2,389 hospitalizations and 6,130 deaths were recorded, representing an average of 472 deaths per year.

Disease

Cholera - Ethiopia

Since the last update in May, the cholera outbreak in Ethiopia keeps spreading with a significant increase of cases. As of 20 June 2023, 11,407 cholera cases – of whom 22 per cent are children under five – were reported.

Disease

Dengue Fever - Peru

Peru health officials report 146,586 dengue cases through June 10 this year, a 241 percent increase compared to the same period in 2022 (42,959). This is the worst dengue outbreak the country has ever experienced.

Disease

Dengue Fever

Bangladesh - Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported more than 300 dengue fever cases and two deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total cases in the country through June 19 this year to 5,231 and 36 deaths.

Laos - Laos health authorities report 4,869 total dengue fever cases from the beginning of the year through June 18.

Taiwan - In a follow-up on the local dengue transmission in Taiwan, the Taiwan CDC reports there are now eight local cases, all in Tainan City.

Chikungunya - Thailand

Thailand health officials report 485 chikungunya cases through the first week of June, a 282 percent increase compared to the period in 2022 when 127 cases were reported.

Japanese encephalitis - Philippines

Health officials in Iloilo province, in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines report 14 laboratory-confirmed cases of Japanese encephalitis (JE), including four deaths, from Jan. 1 to June 3 this year.

Anthrax - Vietnam

Since the beginning of June, three anthrax cases have been reported in Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province in northwestern Vietnam. The three anthrax patients were all in Chan Nua commune, Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province. All three people participated in slaughtering and eating dead buffalo meat suspected of having anthrax.

Disease

Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever - Afghanistan

In a follow-up on the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) outbreak in Afghanistan this year, the World Health Organization reports two new lab confirmed cases of CCHF, including one death in Kabul during the week ending June 10. This brings the total CCHF cases to 111 since the beginning of the year, while the death toll has reached six cases from 13 provinces.

Chickenpox - Paraguay

The Paraguay General Directorate of Health Surveillance has reported several chickenpox outbreaks this year, which are common at this time of year, currently showing a slight increase in cases. So far in 2023, 326 cases of chickenpox have been recorded in the country, up from 275 cases reported during the same period in 2022.

Disease

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - Brazil

The Ministry of Health confirms the occurrence of three deaths from Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in Campinas/São Paulo, referring to an outbreak in the municipality. Until the end of the morning of this Wednesday (June 14), the Health Department of the State of São Paulo was waiting for laboratory confirmation of a possible fourth death from the disease in the region. In Brazil, this year, 53 cases of the disease have already been confirmed, of which eight resulted in deaths.

Dengue Fever - Sri Lanka

In a follow-up on the dengue fever outbreak in Sri Lanka this year, since the beginning of 2023, the National Dengue Control Unit (NDCU) in Sri Lanka has reported 44,540 total dengue cases of which more than 2,000 were reported in the last week.

Malaria - South Korea

From January 1 – June 10, the number of malaria patients totaled 173, an increase of 120 (3.3 times) compared to the previous year (53). 137 cases are considered domestic, while 36 cases are classified as imported.

Disease

Cholera - Lebanon

The Lebanon Ministry of Health announced Sunday that the cholera outbreak that began in October 2022 is now over. The last case recorded was in late February. “More than 12 weeks have passed since the last confirmed case was recorded in Lebanon, ” the statement noted.

Dengue Fever - Costa Rica

The Costa Rica Ministry of Health reports a 28% increase in dengue cases compared to the same date last year, that is, for epidemiological week 21, which covers from May 21 to 27, a total of 2,070 cases while for the same week last year there were 1,490 cases.

Dengue Fever - Ethiopia

In a follow-up on the dengue fever outbreak in Afar region, Ethiopia, new dengue fever cases (confirmed and pending) reported by health facilities in Semera-Logiya, Gewane, Mile, Chifra, Dubti, and Gelalu in the week up to 6 June was 410 (an 8.5 per cent increase from the previous week).

Disease

Dengue Fever - Thailand

In a follow-up on the Thailand dengue fever situation in 2023, 19,503 total cases were reported through June 7. This is an increase of 475 percent compared the the 3386 cases reported during the same period in 2022.

Syphilis - Japan

Japan is seeing the record spread of syphilis this year, reporting a some 20 percent increase from 2022. In a follow-up on the situation, Nationally through June 7, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) reports 6,108 syphilis cases, which include 1,543 in Tokyo and 834 cases in Osaka.

Disease

Anthrax - Ghana

The Nigeria Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development alerted the public today on the outbreak of anthrax in some neighboring countries within the West African Sub-Region; specifically, Northern Ghana, bordering Burkina Faso and Togo where the disease has claimed some lives.

Rabies - Alaska

Scientists have confirmed the first ever case of rabies in an Alaska moose after a diseased animal stumbled into a small community and charged at residents while "drooling profusely." The moose was euthanized shortly after it wandered into Teller, western Alaska, on June 2. A necropsy later detected rabies virus in the moose's brain. The virus detected in the moose was the same variant of rabies circulating in Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) and red foxes (V. vulpes) this past winter, suggesting that the moose contracted the virus from a fox.

Measles - DR Congo

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the measles situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen an increasing trend in 2023 in terms of the number of reported cases and deaths, as well as the geographical distribution. From the beginning of the year through May 7, 99,176 suspected measles cases and 1,239 deaths were reported from 459 health zones (HZs) in all 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), resulting in a case fatality rate (CFR) of 1.2%.

Disease

Chikungunya, Dengue Fever - Paraguay

The Paraguay Ministry of Health reports a marked decline in chikingunya and dengue fever. In the last 3 weeks, 1,768 cases of chikungunya have been recorded at the country level. Regarding dengue, 712 cases have been reported in the last three weeks. Since the beginning of the epidemic, 263 deaths confirmed by chikungunya and 5 confirmed by dengue have been reported. Comorbidities are reported in 73% of the deceased.

Disease

Dengue Fever - Peru

The Peru Ministry of Health has reported 115,949 dengue cases through Epidemiological week 21 (EW 21). This is 161% higher than those reported in the same period of 2022 and 365% higher compared to the average of the last 5 years. 60,178 (51.9%) were laboratory confirmed and 293 (0.25%) were classified as severe dengue.

Dengue Fever - Bangladesh

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in Dhaka reported an additional 156 patients were admitted to hospitals due to dengue fever in the country during the past 24 hours (148 in Dhaka and 8 outside of Dhaka). This brings the country total to 3,021 cases.

Disease

Dengue Fever - Sri Lanka

The Sri Lanka National Dengue Control Unit reported today that the country has reported 42,184 dengue fever cases. including 22 deaths through June 9. This is a 1955% increase compared to the 2052 cases reported during the same period in 2022.

Leptospirosis - Peru

The Peru Ministry of Health reports 6833 cumulative leptospirosis cases through May 27 this year. This is a 188% increase compared the the same period in 2022 (2372). 74.8% are considered probable cases.

Disease

Cholera - South Africa

South Africa’s National Department of Health announced on Thursday that the cholera death toll now stands at 31, following the outbreak in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria. According to the department, Gauteng accounts for 29 deaths, while Free State and Mpumalanga account for one fatality each. Data shows that the country has recorded a total cumulative number of 166 laboratory-confirmed cases and 202 suspected infections of cholera in five provinces between 1 February and 6 June 2023.

Marburg Virus - Equatorial Guinea

The Marburg Virus Disease (MVD) outbreak that was declared on February 13 in Equatorial Guinea, on the west coast of Central Africa, has been declared over today, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced. No new cases were reported over the past 42 days after the last patient was discharged from treatment. A total of 17 laboratory-confirmed cases and 12 deaths were recorded. All the 23 probable cases reported died.

Disease

Dengue Fever, Chikungunya, Zika - Brazil

Through June 5, the SES – State Department of Health of Minas Gerais reported 371,865 probable cases, including 196,658 confirmed cases of the disease. There are 110 confirmed deaths from dengue in Minas Gerais and another 125 deaths under investigation.

Concerning chikungunya, health officials report 71,319 probable cases of the disease were registered, of which 38,648 were confirmed. So far, 23 deaths from Chikungunya have been confirmed in Minas Gerais and 15 are under investigation.

As for the Zika virus, 243 probable cases have been registered so far. There are 24 confirmed for the disease and there are no deaths from Zika in Minas Gerais, to date.

Disease

Legionnaires Disease - Lithuania

Health authorities in Lithuania report an outbreak of legionellosis, or Legionnaires’ disease in the Kaunas district. According to the latest data from officials, a total of 24 cases of legionellosis have been confirmed, including 7 deaths. The latest reported death from LSMU Kaunas Hospital was an individual in the age group of 71-80 years.

Human Bird Flu - China

Hong Kong health officials report monitoring a human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) in the Mainland, the 84th human case since 2014 and the 59th case in the past three years. This case involves a 54-year-old female living in Nanchong, Sichuan, who had exposure to live domestic poultry before the onset of symptoms.