Other news - December 2017

From July to December 2017, NSW Health issued advice about:

• Don’t let nasty bugs ruin your holidays [18 December 2017]
• First summer heatwave: stay cool and hydrated [14 December 2017]
• NSW Health warns of swimming pool cryptosporidiosis risk [13 December 2017]
• Watch out for Salmonella poisoning as temperatures rise [11 December 2017]
• NSW Health tightens regulation to lower Legionnaires risk [8 December 2017]
• Study finds heatwaves in NSW cause 10 per cent increase in deaths (media release ) [1 December 2017]
• Remember Schoolies’ Week for the right reasons – get vaccinated [10 November 2017]
• NSW Health warning on disease risk from bats (media release) [6 November 2017]
• NSW Health urges 20 - 50s to vaccinate against measles [16 October 2017]
• NSW Health thanks staff as flu season declines [16 October]
• Hep A warning issued to patrons at Sydney restaurant [13 October 2017]
• NSW Health urges vaccination to combat hep A outbreak [15 September 2017]
• Hepatitis A outbreak investigation in Sydney [5 September 2017]
• Flu peak has passed but season not over yet [1 September 2017]
• Renewed gastro warning following outbreaks [1 September 2017]
• Infection control breaches in a Sydney dental practice - Somaey Dental Services [21 August 2017]
• Advice to watch for meningococcal symptoms [18 August 2017]
• Fourth case of M. chimaera infection related to open-heart surgery [11 August 2017]
• Health alert: warning on viral gastroenteritis [3 August 2017]
• Protect the elderly as flu cases rise [1 August 2017]
• Measles alert: NSW Health urges awareness after Sydney case (media release). See a list of reported exposure sites [20 July 2017]

From July to December 2017, the Communicable Diseases Branch reported:

• A cluster of malaria among a family of returned travellers
• Cases of Dengue in returned travellers from South East Asia
• High rates of gastroenteritis in institutions
• A fourth case of mycobacterium chimera
• Two cases of Hendra virus in an unvaccinated horse, requiring post exposure prophylaxis for human contacts  wo cases of Hendra virus in an unvaccinated horse, requiring post exposure prophylaxis for human contacts 
• A drop in the number of new HIV diagnoses occurring in men who have sex with men (MSM)
• New cases of invasive meningococcal disease
• New cases of measles, mumps, brucellosis, legionellosis and listeriosis
• Increased notifications of invasive pneumococcal disease
• An outbreak of hep A in Sydney
• Increase in human parechovirus activity in infants
• Increased chlamydia notification rates in the first half of 2017ncreased chlamydia notification rates in the first half of 2017
• A new case of Acute Rheumatic Fever
• Increasing salmonellosis notifications in summer
• One infant death from Haemophilus influenzae type b