CHP reminds public to beware of infectious diseases when travelling overseas

The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health reminds members of the public planning to travel outside Hong Kong to visit the DH's Travel Health Service webpage before departure to learn about the infectious disease situations in other regions and take appropriate precautions.

They should also pay attention to personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times, and ensure they have received necessary vaccinations in advance to prevent various common or travel-related infectious diseases.

Measles

Measles outbreaks have persisted in many regions around the world since last year. North America (including the United States, Canada and Mexico) and Southeast Asia (including Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines) have experienced ongoing measles outbreaks due to low vaccination coverage in recent years. Over 2 100 cases have been recorded in the United States so far this year, a figure significantly higher than the same period last year. In Europe, the number of measles cases in the United Kingdom and Spain has increased this year, with 736 and 136 cases recorded respectively since January. In Asia, the incidence rate of measles remains at a high level in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Japan has also seen a significant rise in cases this year, with 529 cases recorded as of June 17, surpassing last year's total of 265 cases and marking the highest record since 2019.

Mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquito-borne diseases continue to spread in many regions worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global incidence of dengue fever (DF) has markedly increased over the past two decades, posing a substantial public health challenge. In 2024 and 2025 (January to July), the WHO recorded over 14 million cases and 4 million cases respectively. DF is prevalent in many neighbouring tropical and sub-tropical tourist destinations, particularly in Southeast Asian countries. Last year, Indonesia and Vietnam each recorded over 120 000 cases, while Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka each recorded over 50 000 cases. Singapore recorded more than 4 000 cases.

Singapore and Australia have reported 39 and 106 measles cases respectively this year, which are also higher than the same period last year.

Ebola disease

The WHO announced on May 17 this year that an Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo virus had occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda in Africa, which constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. On the same day, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government activated the Alert Response Level, the lowest under the three-tiered response in the Preparedness and Response Plan for Ebola Virus Disease, to safeguard public health. Based on public health considerations, the HKSAR Government also issued a Red Outbound Travel Alert for the DRC on May 21 and urged Hong Kong residents to avoid non-essential travel there.

The outbreak in the DRC continues to grow in scale, affecting the provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.