UPDATE ON DENGUE FEVER OUTBREAK IN YEMEN: 133

UNCLAS SANAA 001031 SIPDIS STATE - PLEASE PASS TO CDC. AMMAN - PLEASE PASS TO JOCK WHITTLESLEY. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO AMED YM SUBJECT: UPDATE ON DENGUE FEVER OUTBREAK IN YEMEN: 133 CONFIRMED CASES REF: SANAA 478 ¶1. As of April 17, The World Health Organization (WHO) has detected 84 cases of dengue fever in the Hadramawt governorate since the outbreak began in late December. These cases of dengue fever occurred in the port city of Mukulla and on the Hadramawt coastline along the Indian Ocean. Added to 49 confirmed cases in Hodeidah, this brings the total count to at least 133 confirmed dengue cases in Yemen since the start of the outbreak. ¶2. WHO Representative to Yemen Dr. Hashim al-Zein reports that a WHO epidemiology team visited the Hadramawt April 5 to ¶11. According to the team, there are no confirmed deaths or incidents of haemorragic fever, a potentially fatal complication of dengue fever, in the Hadramawt area. Of the 84 confirmed cases, 12 cases were detected in the major city of Mukulla, 66 were in Al-Hami, a small town 82 kilometers northeast of Mukulla, and a handful in other small villages. ¶3. Children between the ages of five to 14 comprise 54 percent of the cases, and 60 percent of the cases were male. The most common symptoms were: fever (100 percent),joint pain without swelling (athralgia, 78 percent),muscle pain (myalgia, 60 percent) and pain behind the eyes (retro-orbital pain, 30 percent). The Yemeni Ministry of Health is relying on information from WHO and has no further information to report on the outbreak. ¶3. Post released a March 7 warden message warning American citizens to avoid travel to Hodeidah due to the dengue fever outbreak. Post will amend the warden message to include the Hadramawt per recent developments. Krajeski