Disease

Yellow Fever – Angola

On 21 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point of Angola notified WHO of an outbreak of yellow fever.

The first cases were identified in the district of Viana (Luanda province) on 5 December 2015. Yellow fever infection was initially confirmed in three patients by polymerase chain reaction at the Zoonosis and Emerging Disease Laboratory of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa and at the Pasteur Institute in Dakar, Senegal.

Microcephaly – United States of America

On 16 January 2016, the National IHR Focal Point for the United States of America notified PAHO/WHO of a male infant with microcephaly born in the state of Hawaii in December.

The mother of the child experienced symptoms compatible with Zika virus infection during her second month of pregnancy, while residing in Brazil; however, at the time, testing for the infection was not performed.

Guillain-Barré syndrome – Colombia and Venezuela

Between 30 January and 2 February 2016, the National IHR Focal Points of Colombia and Venezuela informed PAHO/WHO of increases in the number of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) cases recorded at the national level.

From epidemiological week (EW) 51 of 2015 to EW 3 of 2016, 86 GBS cases were reported. On average, Colombia registers 242 GBS cases per year or approximately 19 cases per month or 5 cases per week. The 86 GBS cases reported in those 5 weeks is three times higher than the averaged expected cases of the 6 previous years.

Disease

Microcephaly – Brazil

On 4 January 2016, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil provided PAHO/WHO with an epidemiological report regarding the increase of microcephaly cases in the country.

As of 2 January, 3,174 suspected cases of microcephaly, including 38 deaths, had been identified at the national level. The cases are distributed across 684 municipalities of 21 federal units. The Northeastern region continues to report the highest number of suspected cases.

Zika virus infection – United States of America - Puerto Rico

On 31 December 2015, the National IHR Focal Point (NFP) of the United States of America notified PAHO/WHO of the first laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus infection in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. The patient is a resident of Puerto Rico and had no travel history outside the island in the three months prior to the onset of illness. A blood sample obtained from the patient tested positive for Zika viral RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Disease

Microcephaly – Brazil

On 8 December 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil provided PAHO/WHO with an update regarding the unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the northeast of Brazil.

As of 5 December, 1,761 suspected cases of microcephaly, including 19 deaths, have been identified. The cases are distributed across 422 municipalities of 14 federal units. Pernambuco and Paraíba are the most affected states with 804 and 316 cases, respectively. Fatal cases were reported in Rio Grande do Norte (7), Sergipe (4), Bahia (2), Rio de Janeiro (2), Ceará (1), Maranhão (1), Paraíba (1) and Piauí (1).

Cholera – Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has notified WHO of ongoing outbreaks of cholera across the country. Although the overall trend is decreasing, there are still areas reporting a high number of cases.

Since the beginning of the year, 19,705 cases have been reported in DRC. As of 29 November, the following provinces had reported cases: South Kivu (4,906), ex-Katanga (4,565), Maniema (3,971), North Kivu (3,294) and ex-Oriental (2,969). A high number of cases are still reported in the province of South Kivu where the situation is particularly worrying because of the presence of camps hosting refugees from Burundi. Furthermore, there are concerns that the epidemic in Maniema could spread to other provinces of the country as observed during the 2011 cholera epidemic when areas of Kinshasa were also affected.

Foot-and-mouth outbreak hits Limpopo, South Africa

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed in the Limpopo province.

The department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that laboratory tests had confirmed the outbreak and had also identified the virus as the SAT 3 strain. "The outbreak occurred in the Matiane community, in the Thulamela local municipality of the Vhembe District which is within the FMD protection zone of South Africa, where vaccination for FMD is routinely conducted," the department said in a Times Live report.

The areas is reportedly close to the Kruger National Park where infected buffalo were a constant source of the infection. The department speculated that the drought in the area may be causing cattle and buffalo to come into increased contact due to limited grazing and water sources.

Disease

Hawaii reports more dengue

The Hawaii Department of Health continues to work with other state and county agencies on the issue of the Dengue Fever outbreak. As of Friday, the Department of Health had reported 107 confirmed cases originating on Hawaii Island. This is an increase of 6 cases from the previous update. These cases include 93 residents and 14 visitors.

Because dengue fever is only transmitted by mosquitoes, the Department of Health is spraying and treating areas with high mosquito presence and confirmed cases. The Department of Health plans to conduct spraying in various areas of South Kona, Hilo, Puna, and Kau.

Although spraying and treatment of areas is ongoing, the most effective method to reduce the spread and eliminate Dengue is to fight the bite. Minimize or prevent the possibility of being bitten by an infected mosquito by wearing clothing that minimizes exposed skin, use mosquito repellant and avoid activities in areas of high mosquito concentration during the early morning and late afternoon periods when mosquito activity is greatest.

Zika virus infection – Guatemala

PAHO/WHO has received notification of a laboratory-confirmed autochthonous case of Zika virus infection in Guatemala. The case, who is a resident of the Zacapa department, developed symptoms on 11 November. An investigation is being carried out to detect further cases.

Zika virus infection – El Salvador

On 24 November, the National IHR Focal Point of El Salvador notified PAHO/WHO of 3 laboratory-confirmed autochthonous cases of Zika virus infection. The preliminary confirmation was provided by the national reference laboratory and has since been confirmed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Fort Collins. Salvadoran health authorities are implementing the corresponding prevention and control activities.

Microcephaly – Brazil

The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil has provided PAHO/WHO with an update regarding the unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the northeast of Brazil.

As of 21 November, a total of 739 cases of microcephaly were being investigated in nine states in the northeast of Brazil. The distribution of the cases was as follows: Pernambuco (487 cases), Paraíba (96 cases), Sergipe (54 cases), Rio Grande do Norte (47 cases), Piauí (27 cases), Alagoas (10 cases), Ceará (9 cases), Bahia (8 cases) and Goiás (1 case). One fatal case was reported in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

Disease

Microcephaly – Brazil

In October 2015, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Brazil notified PAHO/WHO of an unusual increase in the number of cases of microcephaly among newborns in the state of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil.

As of 17 November, a total of 399 cases of microcephaly were being investigated in seven states in the northeast of Brazil. Most of the cases were registered in Pernambuco state (268). Other states that reported microcephaly cases are Sergipe (44), Rio Grande do Norte (39), Paraiba (21), Piaui (10), Ceara (9) and Bahia (8).

Mosquitos Spreading New Invasive Disease in Americas (Zika Virus)

A mosquito-borne disease once limited to Africa and Asia is spreading across parts of South America.

Zika joins dengue and chikungunya as invasive diseases carried by the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.

It threatens public health and tourism from the Caribbean to South America. Zika first appeared in Brazil last April, with local authorities linking it to foreign visitors attending the FIFA World Cup competition.

Six cases of the disease have now been confirmed in neighboring Suriname.

Symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pain, headache, nausea, eyeball pain, vomiting and diarrhea.

The illness typically lasts between four and seven days.

Ebola Returns to Liberia

Two months after Liberia was declared free of Ebola, three confirmed cases of the deadly disease have emerged in the West African nation.

Thee nation's health ministry said a new case was confirmed Thursday, when blood samples from a patient admitted in a hospital the same week tested positive.

Two other high- risk contacts also tested positive, and all three are undergoing care at an Ebola treatment centre in the capital of Monrovia, the health ministry said in a statement.