26 November 2014
The Department of Health (DH) today (November 26) updated the list of affected countries/areas in the local reporting criteria for Ebola virus disease in response to the latest situation reported by Mali.
According to World Health Organization, two additional Ebola cases have been confirmed in Mali involving two close contacts of previously confirmed cases. This indicates that there is further transmission of the disease in the country.
"In view of this, we will include Mali in the list of affected countries/areas with active transmission," a spokesman for the DH said.
The DH again urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel to Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone. Updated travel advice has been uploaded to the front page of the Centre for Health Protection ( www.chp.gov.hk/en ), the DH's Travel Health Service ( www.travelhealth.gov.hk/eindex.html ) and the Outbound Travel Alert of the Security Bureau ( www.sb.gov.hk/eng/ota ).
"We will issue letters to doctors and private hospitals to inform them of the updated affected countries/areas," the spokesman added.
There is currently no vaccine available for EVD. The public should avoid unnecessary travel to affected areas, and observe good personal and environmental hygiene during travel:
The public should also pay attention to the hygiene practices below: