Coronavirus Breaking News

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reissued a Level 2 travel notice, advising travelers to practice enhanced precautions due to the ongoing Chikungunya fever outbreak in Guangdong Province, Republic of China.

Since July 2025, this mosquito-transmitted virus has been challenging China's public health systems on the mainland,

And in Hong Kong, where over 10 local Chikungunya cases have been reported, the popular hiking area, Tsing Yi Nature Trails, was recently closed.

These outbreaks highlight the need to improve surveillance of viral mutations.

According to China CDC Weekly (7(49): 1528-1532), the circulating strain of the Chikungunya virus in Foshan, Guangdong, belongs to the East/Central/South African genotype, not the Indian Ocean Lineage. However, the specific mutations in the viral genome remained unclear.

China's CDC wrote that these mutations are known to enhance viral replication and virus transmission efficiency in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. 

On December 17, 2025, the U.S. CDC stated that we can protect ourselves from this disease by preventing mosquito bites and that vaccination is recommended for travelers visiting an area with a chikungunya outbreak.  

The CDC also advises pregnant women to reconsider travel to these affected areas.

If you do visit these areas of China, seek medical care immediately if you develop fever, joint pain, headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash during or after travel.

The leading mosquito-borne disease in the United States is not Chikungunya or Dengue; it's the seldom-discussed West Nile Virus (WNV).

Now found in 45 states, WNV causes more illnesses and deaths than any other mosquito-borne disease in the continental U.S., says the U.S. CDC.

As of December 17, 2025, the CDC reported over 2,000 individuals infected with WNV this year. Colorado is an unfortunate leader with 284 cases. Texas has reported 4 WNV-related deaths.

And 1,404 WNV-related Neuroinvasive disease cases in 2025

AMA infectious diseases director Erica Kaufman West, MD, recently addressed the ongoing risks of WNV in the USA. =

A study published by the JAMA Network Open (Vol. 8, No. 12) concluded that older people with a history of chronic kidney disease or conditions affecting blood flow to the brain have about double the risk for developing neuroinvasive disease that can lead to paralysis and death following WNV infection.

"In 2025, there's been a substantial increase in West Nile virus activity with 41% more severe-disease cases and 32% more deaths than what is typically seen," Dr. Kaufman West said in a press release on December 5, 2025.

Physicians don't always have WNV on their radar in patients at high risk for infectious disease—but they should, the AMA added.

And in Europe, 14 countries have reported a total of 1,112 locally acquired human cases.

The countries with the highest number of WNV cases include Italy (779 cases, 72 deaths), Greece (96), and France (62), followed by Serbia (62), Romania (49), and Spain (36). Other countries reporting cases are Hungary (14), Croatia (4), Albania (3), and Germany (2), along with North Macedonia (2), Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Türkiye.

Unfortunately, there have been 97 reported deaths due to the virus in Europe in 2025.

According to the European CDC, these figures are lower than those seen in 2018, 2022, and 2024, years when virus circulation was particularly intense. Italy's data in 2025 represents the highest number of human WNV cases ever reported in a single year. 

Both the CDC and ECDC say there is no licensed WNV vaccine for humans yet.

However, several candidates are in clinical trials, focusing on technologies such as live-attenuated or DNA-based vaccines. Therefore, personal protection is the primary human prevention tactic.

While human vaccines are pending, effective equine vaccines are available and widely used, alongside mosquito control.

Over the last few months of 2025, the Florida Department of Health (FDH) has reported an uptick in travel-related Chikungunya fever cases. During week #50, 46 additional Chikungunya cases were confirmed.

As of December 13, 2025, FDH reported two hundred six travel-associated chikungunya cases in Florida this year.

Florida counties confirming cases include, but are not limited to, Broward (20), Hillsborough (20), and Miami-Dade (127).

FDH says these people recently arrived from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, and Cuba (194).

Cuba's 2025 Chikungunya outbreak began in western provinces like Matanzas and has reached the capital, Havana.

FDH says Chikungunya is an infection caused by a virus transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito, similar to Dengue. Initially reported in 2006, Chikungunya has become a locally acquired and travel-related health concern in most years in Florida.

Over the last two years, Chikungunya vaccines have been approved and are available in Florida at various clinics.

As of December 17, 2025, the U.S. CDC recommends pre-departure vaccination before visiting a Chikungunya outbreak zone, such as Cube.

For a few decades, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has been a standard, effective, low-cost immunotherapy for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

However, the 100-year-old BCG vaccine alone did not help all patients with bladder cancer recover.

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ANKTIVA®, with BCG, for the treatment of patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with carcinoma in situ (CIS), with or without papillary tumors.

An Original Research article published in the Journal of Urology, January 1, 2026, edition, demonstrates efficacy at 12 and 36 months, including disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, long-term progression-free survival, and high cystectomy avoidance in patients with BCG-unresponsive high-grade papillary-only NMIBC.

These researchers stated the findings also show tolerable safety consistent with BCG treatment alone, with 3% grade 3 and no grade 4 or 5 treatment-related adverse events.

"Patients with BCG-unresponsive papillary-only non-muscle invasive bladder cancer have few treatment options, with cystectomy being considered the definitive treatment," said lead author Sam S. Chang, M.D., Professor of Urology and Chief Surgical Officer of the Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, in a press release on December 16, 2025.

"Prolongation of progression-free survival, disease-specific free survival, and avoidance of bladder removal are clinically meaningful goals of next-generation chemotherapy-free immunotherapy."

"Our findings provide evidence that ANKTIVA plus BCG would offer a novel and efficacious treatment option for these patients."

ANKTIVA is currently approved in the USA and the United Kingdom, and has a Conditional Marketing Authorization in the European Union, with BCG, for the treatment of patients with BCG-unresponsive NMIBC with CIS, with or without papillary tumors.

"The evidence that CIS and papillary disease are clonally linked, combined with the QUILT-3.032 findings showing long-term cystectomy avoidance, sustained avoidance of progression to muscle-invasive disease, and 96% bladder cancer-specific survival at three years, supports the consideration that ANKTIVA plus BCG addresses the unmet need for patients with papillary disease alone who face the prospect of total radical cystectomy following failure of BCG therapy," added Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of ImmunityBio.

The Ministry of Health of Peru (MINSA) recently declared a national epidemiological alert in direct response to the significant increase in international travel and large gatherings associated with year-end festivities.

For example, local media reports that about 1.5 million visitors have already visited the historic site of Machu Picchu during the first 10 months of 2025. Machu Picchu is Peru's most visited tourist destination.

Announced on December 12, 2025, this proactive measure focused on the health risk associated with influenza A (H3N2) subclade K and measles.

A MINSA official clarified that the Influenza A H3N2 virus does not present any significant warning signs or severity. Minsa began influenza vaccinations in April 2025 for vulnerable groups.

In the United States and Europe, they use the same flu shot we use, which has a 70% effectiveness rate," explained Luis Quiroz.

Additionally, the spreading of measles in Peru was highlighted in a U.S. CDC Travel Health Notice. 

Furthermore, the CDC recommends vaccinations, including Chikungunya, Typhoid, and Yellow Fever, for many visitors to Peru in 2025.

These travel vaccines are available from various clinics in the United States.

In late 2025, Ethiopia experienced its first outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in its southern regions. 

As of December 12, 2025, Ethiopia's Ministry of Health posted on Facebook that there have been 14 confirmed cases of MVD with nine related fatalities.

Accordingly, the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel within 5km of the towns of Jinka and Hawassa due to the ongoing MVD outbreak.

In early December, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 1 travel advisory, stating to watch for symptoms of Marburg while in the outbreak area and for 21 days after leaving Ethiopia. If you develop fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, rash, chest pain, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or unexplained bleeding or bruising, contact a healthcare provider.

Since its initial outbreak in 1967, no suspected, probable, or confirmed MVD-related cases have been reported in the United States or the United Kingdom. Previous MVD outbreaks have been confirmed in Europe and other African countries.

Currently, no preventive vaccine has been approved for human use. However, Marburg vaccine candidates are conducting clinical research as of December 15, 2025.

Local media in Mexico have reported human cases of myiasis associated with the northern expansion of New World Screwworms (NWS).

As of early December 2025, reports of myiasis cases in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Yucatán, Campeche, and Tabasco, totaling around 92 human cases, including five related fatalities.

Throughout the Region of the America, 1,000 NWS cases in people have been confirmed in 2025.

According to the United States government, NWS has not crossed into the state of Texas and is not currently present in the USA. However, there has been one confirmed case of NWS in a person who returned to the USA after traveling to El Salvador.

The U.S. CDC says Infestations by NWS maggots can cause painful and foul-smelling wounds. If not caught early and treated, it can lead to extensive tissue damage and potentially death.

The CDC recommends that healthcare providers, if they suspect a patient has an NWS infestation, report it immediately to their local or state health department.