Yellow Fever – Kingdom of the Netherlands

On 22 November 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) was informed by Dutch authorities of a laboratory-confirmed case of yellow fever. The case-patient is a 26 year-old male who visited Gambia from 3 through 17 November 2018, with a three day trip to Senegal from 12 through 14 November. He had no history of vaccination for yellow fever prior to the trip. On 18 November 2018, the case-patient developed symptoms including fever, nausea and vomiting. On19 November 2018 he was hospitalized with symptoms of acute liver failure and he is still in hospital as of 10 December.

The International Health Regulations National Focal Point (IHR NFP) from the Netherlands has notified counterparts in Gambia and Senegal about the case, and about the exact locations visited by the patient. There have been no other reports of confirmed yellow fever cases from Senegal, Gambia or The Netherlands at this time.

Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 – Niger

From July through September 2018, six cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported from Niger, genetically linked to a cVDPV2 case in Jigawa and Katsina States, Nigeria. The virus was isolated from children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) from Zinder region, located in the south of Niger and on the border with Nigeria, with dates of onset of paralysis ranging from 18 July through 16 September 2018. This outbreak has also affected Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, and Borno states in Nigeria, with 17 cases reported since April 2018.

Saudi Arabia: 10 things you need to know about a kingdom of cruelty

Following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again under the global spotlight.
Turkey’s President Erdogan said he believed the death of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul was a “savage murder”.
But Khashoggi’s killing is only the latest in a long line of violations to add to the Kingdom’s appalling human rights record.

Chikungunya – Sudan

On 31 May 2018, the State Ministry of Health (SMOH) of the Red Sea State in Sudan reported four suspected cases of chikungunya fever from Swakin locality, in Red Sea State. Among the signs and symptoms were sudden onset of fever, headache, joint pain and swelling, muscle pain and/or inability to walk.

The first suspected case of chikungunya in the neighboring Kassala State was reported on 8 August 2018, in a male travelling from the Red Sea State. Since then cases have been reported in three localities of the State (Kassala, West Kassala and Rural Kassala). On 10 August, among 24 collected blood samples, 22 samples tested positive for chikungunya by PCR and ELISA at the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Khartoum. On 9 September, an additional 100 samples were collected and pooled in batches of ten: 50% of pools tested positive for mixed chikungunya and dengue viruses, and all pools were positive for chikungunya virus.