Schlagwort: outbreak news

From 1 January through 19 December 2019, a total of 124 laboratory confirmed cases of measles, including two deaths, were reported in the Gaza Strip (case fatality ratio=1.6%). Of the confirmed cases, forty-nine cases (40%) were hospitalized, 12 were among health care workers, and seventy-five (60%) were males. Gaza Strip has an estimated population of 1.99 million (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics-2019).

In addition, of the confirmed cases, 57 cases (46%) were un-vaccinated, of which 28 (23%) were among infants between 6 months to one year old, and 29 (23%) among age groups higher than 30 years old. Between 2009 and 2018, the median administrative immunization coverage for the second dose of measles-containing-vaccine (MCV2) was 97%.

On 31 December 2019, the WHO China Country Office was informed of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology (unknown cause) detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China. As of 3 January 2020, a total of 44 patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology have been reported to WHO by the national authorities in China. Of the 44 cases reported, 11 are severely ill, while the remaining 33 patients are in stable condition. According to media reports, the concerned market in Wuhan was closed on 1 January 2020 for environmental sanitation and disinfection.

The causal agent has not yet been identified or confirmed. On 1 January 2020, WHO requested further information from national authorities to assess the risk.

On 5 December 2019, the National IHR Focal Point for Qatar reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection to WHO.

The first case-patient (case #1) is a 67-year-old female from Doha, Qatar. She developed fever, cough, shortness of breath and headache on 23 November 2019, and presented to a hospital on 25 November. On 27 November, she went to the same hospital for follow up. However, on 28 November, her condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital. A nasopharyngeal swab was collected on 28 November and tested positive for MERS-CoV by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on 29 November. The patient had underlying medical conditions, and passed away on 12 December 2019. The source of her infection is under investigation. The patient had neither a history of contact with dromedary camels nor recent travel. Follow up and screening of seven household contacts and 40 healthcare worker contacts is ongoing and two asymptomatic secondary cases have been identified so far.

From 3 November through 8 December 2019, three laboratory confirmed cases of yellow fever including two deaths (case fatality rate = 67%) were detected through the national surveillance system in Mali. The first case-patient was a 15-year-old girl from a village in Kati district, Koulikoro region, Mali. The second and third case were in 17 and 25-year-old men, nationals from Cote d’Ivoire, living in the district of Bouguimi, Sikasso region, Mali. All three cases tested positive for yellow fever by Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on 3 December 2019 at Institute Pasteur Dakar (IPD). The first case was not vaccinated against yellow fever and had no travel history outside of Kati District. Meanwhile, the vaccination status for the other two cases was unknown.

Additionally, there were nine suspected and three probable cases reported from the Bouguimi district, including three deaths among the probable cases.

A resurgence of measles cases has been seen in all WHO Regions since 2017. In the Asia Pacific Region, outbreaks of measles have been reported from countries where measles has previously been eliminated (including Australia, Cambodia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea) and in endemic countries with high incidence rates (including Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam).