Travel Talk

Australian lifesavers had their work cut out for them over the last five weeks, helping with the more than 22,000 people that reported bluebottle jellyfish stings in the south-east regions of Queensland, with the last weekend alone reporting more than 5,000 incidents.

Poliovirus was confirmed in a 6-year-old boy from the Morobe Province, PNG, at the end of April this year. This is the first confirmed case of Polio to have arisen in PNG in 22 years, with the last known case for the country reported in 1996.

Following the death of a New Zealand girl, Tonga has declared a Dengue outbreak. The 12 year old had been visiting family for Christmas when she caught the disease.

Whooping Cough cases are on the rise and Public Health South is monitoring the 24 probable and confirmed cases this year. Since November the number of cases continues to rise leading the Ministry of Health to declare a national outbreak.

Auckland’s mumps outbreak has been fuelled by low vaccination rates as not enough young Aucklanders are immunised in the fight against this persistent outbreak, according to the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS). Over 1,000 cases have been reported with number doubling since the start of October.

Smart Traveller is advising Australian residents travelling to PNG on recreational dive trips to be aware that the only hyperbaric (decompression) chamber in PNG is currently out of order, with no timeline for when it will be reactivated. Please dive well within safety limits and ensure you have travel and health insurance that includes coverage for diving and evacuation costs.

Routine vaccinations are the ones that you have during childhood – like tetanus, diphtheria, polio, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) & meningococcal disease; but also when you’re an adult, as needed for job applications (e.g. hepatitis B), when pregnant/planning parenthood (e.g. whooping cough, influenza & MMR), following an injury (tetanus) or on reaching mature age (e.g.

Earlier this year, we were informed that suppliers were experiencing a supply constraint of Adult Hepatitis B vaccine in Australia due to a precautionary interruption in the manufacturing process. This was not in any way due to safety or quality concerns with the vaccine that has already been administered, or with stock currently available.

All corporate clients have different medical and process requirements when it comes to travelling overseas for their employment. Client Instructions (CI) are the basis of what we do for you. And like everyone, we all want it done efficiently.

According to New Zealand news media there have been fifteen cases of typhoid fever in Auckland during the past fortnight. There has been one death but that patient had many other medical problems as well. The outbreak has been linked to a Pacific church community. The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is following up with 60 contacts of the church group and treating the outbreak as a localised one. So far the source of the outbreak remains undetermined.

Newspapers in West Australia are carrying reports of measles in travellers to Bali. Such reports have been appearing over the years and since 2013 there have been 20 cases imported into West Australia from Bali. Earlier this month NSW Health issued a similar alert. Last week the Taiwanese Center for Communicable Diseases also reported on measles cases acquired in Bali.

A one-off meningococcal W vaccination program for people living in Kalgoorlie, Boulder, Coollgardie and Kambalda will target children aged four years and under, and 15 to 19 year-olds.