Disease

Dengue Fever in Sudan

According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, a total of 523 suspected dengue fever cases, including 104 deaths, were reported in Sudan between 29 August (when the outbreak started) and 18 December.

In Darfur, 473 suspected cases-including 99 deaths-were reported in 27 localities. In Kordofan, 44 suspected cases-including four deaths-were reported in the eight localities of Abyei, Keilak, Babanousa (West Kordofan), Reif Ashargi, Kadugli, Habila, Lagawa (South Kordofan) and Shiekan (North Kordofan). In Kassala state, six suspected cases-including one death-were reported in the state capital Kassala town.

More Dengue Fever Cases In Penang, Malaysia

A total of 146 cases of dengue fever were reported in Penang between Dec 27 and Jan 2, up by 24 cases or 19.7 per cent from the previous week.

Agriculture, Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health Committee chairman Dr Afif Bahardin said there was an increase of 2,589 cases or 85.6 per cent last year from the 3,141 cases in 2014.

Pakistan - Water Borne Diseases

Four more children died in Civil Hospital Mithi on Tuesday, after an outbreak of water borne diseases which has claimed the lives of at least 16 children in the last six days.

More than one hundred ailing children, meanwhile, have been admitted to different hospitals in the drought-hit Thar district.

Parents of children brought in to Civil Hospital Mithi told Dawn.com that health personnel were responding with indifference to their children's plight.

Disease

Dengue Fever in Sudan

The under-secretary of the Sudanese Ministry of Health announced that samples taken from patients in West and Central Darfur tested positive on Dengue fever.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Republic of Korea

The mers outbreak in South Korea seems to be under control. Between 18 and 21 July 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of the Republic of Korea notified WHO of no additional cases of infection and no new deaths related to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

Bird flu spreading across West Africa

A highly contagious strain of avian flu is spreading across West Africa, decimating poultry farms and stoking fears the virus will jump from birds to humans, the U.N.’s food agency warned on Monday.

Markets and farms in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ivory Coast and Ghana have been hit with the deadly H5N1 virus over the past six months, the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

If the virus continues to spread, it could affect more than 330 million people across West Africa, hurting food security and human health in a region still recovering from the Ebola crisis.

Cholera in Sudan - Update

The death toll from South Sudan's most recent cholera outbreak has increased to 39 with 1,212 recorded cases of the disease in the embattled African country.

Disease

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Update

Between 13 and 17 June 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified WHO of 5 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.

Between 20 and 23 June 2015, the National IHR Focal Point of the Republic of Korea notified WHO of 9 additional confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) alongside 3 additional deaths.

Fresh Cholera Outbreak in Sudan

At least 19 people have died and nearly 200 admitted at Cholera centres in the South Sudan capital, Juba, as government declared an outbreak of the disease.

Disease

Measles in Sudan

Confirmed cases of measles in Sudan this year already have quadrupled compared with the number for the entirety of last year, with the majority of those diagnosed with the disease being children under the age of 15. In light of the recent outbreak, Sudan on Monday launched the second part of a vaccination campaign against measles.

Anywhere between 500 and 600 cases of the infectious disease diagnosed yearly in the country is common, but the recent outbreak is the highest it has been in years, according to the United Nations. As of Monday, there were 2,511 cases of measles, and 38 people have died from the disease that is very rarely fatal because of vaccinations.

Disease

China Bird Flu - Update

TH7N9 bird flu is a 'serious threat' - researchers warn. The outbreak of a new type of bird flu in China poses a "serious threat" to human health, but it is still too soon to predict how far it will spread. H7N9 is the 'nastiest virus in humans in years.'

Of the 126 people known to be infected so far, 24 have died, with many more still severely ill in hospital. The H7N9 virus has not, however, yet proved able to spread between people - which limits its global threat. The threat should be "treated calmly, but seriously", researchers advise.

There is concern over both the pace and severity of the outbreak. There has been a relatively high number of known infections since the first case was detected in April.

How the virus spreads is key. As long as it can spread only from a bird to a person through direct contact it posses a relatively small risk globally - particularly in richer countries where such contact is rare. If it can spread from one person to another then the threat becomes much more potent. This has not yet happened and it is impossible to tell whether it will happen tomorrow or never.

The infection results in severe pneumonia and even blood poisoning and organ failure. "The WHO considers this a serious threat, but we don't know at this stage whether this is going to spread from human to human." So far nearly all cases have been traced back to contact with poultry. If the virus adapts to spread readily between people it will pose a much greater threat and scientists warn that the virus is mutating rapidly.

Meningitis in Sudan

An outbreak of Meningitis in South Sudan's Upper Nile has been declared by local authorities, after the disease reportedly killed two people in its Malakal county. At least 38 suspected cases have been confirmed.

Storms and Floods

Summer Storm Hits Chiang Rai, Thailand

A severe summer storm in Chiang Rai province of Thailand has damaged more than 1,400 houses. It is the biggest summer storm in 50 years.

Flash Flood in Jonglei State in Sudan

A flash flood in Jonglei state in Sudan has displaced more than 12,000 people.

The Nile River flooding in Sudan has affected Jalle, Twic East, Maar and Lith payams districts.

Flooding in Kajiado, Kenya

Flooding in Kajiado district of Kenya has claimed at least four lives.

The floods have mainly affected Nkoroi, Magadi and Kiserian areas of Kajiado district in Kenya.

Other News:

Heavy rains with hailstorms have hit Islamabad and Rawalpindi areas in Pakistan.

Disease

Yellow fever in Sudan - update

As of 4 December, a total of 732 suspected cases of yellow fever, including 165 deaths have been reported in 33 out of 64 localities in Darfur.

Disease

Yellow fever outbreak kills 164 in Darfur, Sudan.

Disease

Death toll in the yellow fever outbreak in the Darfur region in Sudan rises to 67, while 77 cases of measles have also been reported.

Disease

16 refugees killed by Hepatitis E in camps in South Sudan.

There have been additional confirmed and probable cases with Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Exact numbers have not been released.

Disease

The ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo claims three more victims, raising the death toll to 14.

Kala azar disease outbreak in the southern Sudan. More than 200 people admitted to hospitals.

Floods and Storms

Tropical Storm Hector forms in the Eastern Pacific. The storm is moving away from land.

The death toll in the recent floods that hit Manila in the Philippines has risen to 85.

Floods in the eastern Sudan. 1 000 families lose their homes.

Tornado confirmed on east Long Island, New York, USA.

 

Disease

Death rate soars in refugee camps in southern Sudan. The camps have become a swamp after recent heavy rains, but there is little or no available fresh water. Diarrhea and other preventable diseases are claiming 9 children every day.

International health officials are investigating an outbreak of an unidentified disease in Cambodia.