The Swiss Expert Committee for Travel Medicine (ECTM) - a body of the Swiss Society for Tropical and Travel Medicine (FMH) - has revamped the Safetravel® website and renamed it to HealthyTravel.ch. The website continues to offer basic travel medicine recommendations for laypersons free of charge. Professionals can also subscribe to additional travel medicine information and recommendations such as in-depth country-specific information, vaccination recommendations with expert opinions, detailed maps (including malaria recommendations), fact sheets (including e.g. dosage information for malaria prophylaxis) and other important travel medicine content. These can be used during travel medicine consultation of patients and clients and can be individually compiled for the traveller, printed out or sent electronically.  The recommendations and content on HealthyTravel.ch reflect the recommendations of the Swiss Expert Committee for Travel Medicine. They are developed in cooperation with the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). The website is under construction and will be continuously expanded with additional content and updates. Please note that all content available on the website HealthyTravel.ch is protected by copyright and may not be passed on to third parties. Further information can be found in the flyer (LINK). The Swiss Expert Committee for Travel Medicine will be happy to answer any questions at info@healthytravel.ch !

A dengue fever outbreak in the Afar Region in Northeastern Ethiopia has been reported. It is estimated that over 1'000 suspected dengue cases have been registered. The large number of displaced people due to conflict and ongoing flooding are aggravating the epidemic situation.

According to reports from South African health authorities, there is a significant increase in malaria cases in the endemic provinces in the north and northeast of the country. Early detection and treatment are essential for malaria cases. Untreated malaria rapidly develops into a severe disease with a potentially fatal outcome.

Colombia reports a higher than usual number of dengue cases this year. A total of 32'206 cases have been registered through April, including 108 deaths. The majority of cases are from the following regions: Meta, Tolima, Cundinamarca, Barranquilla, Sucre, Cartagena, Santander, Cali, Cesar, Northern Santander, Atlantic, Cordoba and Guajira.

The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has reported the first Zika virus infection in Switzerland since 2019. It is an imported case. In Switzerland itself, no locally acquired Zika virus infection has been detected so far. Globally, Zika transmissions have been at low levels since 2018. Since the start of mandatory reporting in Switzerland in 2016, the FOPH has registered a total of 75 Zika cases.

Since the beginning of the year and until mid-April, a total of 1'053 suspected yellow fever cases have been reported from Uganda.

So far this year, 35 chikungunya cases have been registered in Uruguay; 18 of them were locally transmitted and originated in the department of Paysandú.

According to health officials in Galveston County in Texas, USA, murine typhus (R. typhi) is on the rise. Four cases have been reported so far this year, and they are likely to increase as temperatures rise. Since 2014, the number of cases has been cumulative. In 2014, there was only one reported case; last year, there were 54, according to the health district; in fact, the number is likely higher.Murine typhus is caused by rickettsiae (organisms found worldwide and classified as bacteria), which are transmitted to humans by fleas. Symptoms include chills, headache, fever and rash. There is no vaccine; the disease can be treated with antibiotics.

Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the world. This year, Hajj begins on 26 June 2023. Normally, about three million Muslims from all over the world gather in Mecca. For Hajj 2023, the KSA Ministry of Health has announced that regulations have been restored to the pre-pandemic situation; there are no longer COVID-19 precautions and age restrictions for pilgrims. As a precaution, the KSA recommends that pregnant women and young children postpone performing Hajj and Umrah. Umrah is a shorter pilgrimage for Muslims that is performed as part of the Hajj ritual, but can also be undertaken at any time.