Ports and Shipping

Hello Colleagues,

Media coverage in the UK of this new Coronavirus seems to have stepped up considerably. Obviously, we await confirmation from the Emergency Committee of WHO as to whether it will be declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) or not and we may hear today about that.

Dear colleagues,

The authorities in Wuhan, central China, said 44 people had been admitted to hospital with an unidentified virus. Eleven of them were in a serious condition, while a further 121 people who had been in close contact with the infected patients had been placed under medical observation. No deaths have been reported.

Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said that the origin of the viral pneumonia outbreak remained unknown.

Good Day, 

Happy New Year 2020 to all PoE colleagues. 

A new outbreak is being reported in media.

Hope to hear more from WHO soon on that.

Kind Regards, 

Dr. S. Senthil Nathan, 

Port Health Officer, Chennai (earlier at Kandla Port) 

Dear Colleagues,

WHO EMRO office sent me a link to this vector borne disease which I have to confess I hadn't heard of before. Whilst mainly affecting horses, it is capable of being transmitted to humans via infected mosquitoes. Whilst currently rare, it is seeing an increase in Florida as the attached news report explains:

https://nypost.com/2019/07/28/deadly-mosquito-borne-virus-that-causes-brain-swelling-detected-in-florida/

Dear Colleagues,

Dear colleagues,

At the South Sudanese land borders shared with the DRC and Uganda, IOM staff screened on Ebola exposure and symptoms 24,424 inbound travelers during the week 17-23 June 2019. Here is the link:

https://southsudan.iom.int/media-and-reports/other-reports/ebola-virus-disease-preparedness-update-25-17-%E2%80%93-23-june-2019

Best regards

Dr Mohamed Moussif