Coronavirus Breaking News

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) today reported vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) has been detected in an environmental sewage sample collected in Yorkshire and the Humber, in northern England, home to about 5.6 million people.

As of September 16, 2025, the GPEi confirmed that this is the second VDPV2-positive environmental sample reported in the United Kingdom in 2025.

The GPEI says VDPV2 is a strain related to the weakened live poliovirus contained in the oral polio vaccine. If allowed to circulate in under- or unimmunized populations for long enough, or replicate in an immunodeficient individual, the weakened virus can revert to a form that causes illness and paralysis.

The U.S. CDC's Global Polio Travel Health Notice says that Most people with polio do not feel sick. Some people have only minor symptoms, such as fever, tiredness, nausea, headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, cough, stiffness in the neck and back, and pain in the arms and legs. In rare cases, polio infection causes permanent loss of muscle function.

The CDC did include the UK among the 39 countries identified in this Level 2 travel alert.

As of November 18, 2025, the CDC recommends that before traveling to any destination listed, adults who previously completed the complete, routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.

In the USA, the IPV vaccine is offered at clinics and travel pharmacies. 

Based on internal Wallgreens pharmacy data, the Respiratory Illness Index map shows minimal influenza reports for the 2025-2026 respiratory season.

Seperately, the U.S. CDC Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 45, ending November 8, 2025, says seasonal influenza activity remains low nationally but is increasing in some areas.

On November 14, 2025, the CC wrote that the percent positivity for influenza and the percentage of emergency department visits for influenza among pediatric age groups increased last week. And the timing of the increasing activity is similar to several past seasons, including the 2024-2025 season.

The best news from the CDC is that no influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2025-2026 season have been reported to the CDC.

The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get an annual influenza vaccine anytime viruses are circulating. 

From an access perspective, more than 121 million doses of influenza vaccine have been distributed in the United States this season, and are readily available at local pharmacies. 

Marburg virus disease has been detected in the South Ethiopia Region, the first of its kind in the country, following laboratory testing of samples from a cluster of suspected cases of viral haemorrhagic fever.

As of November 14, 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 9 cases in the outbreak affecting Jinka town in the South Ethiopia Region.

In the African region, previous Marburg outbreaks and sporadic cases have been reported in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Marburg's initial outbreak was detected in Germany in 1967.

Marburg is a severe and often fatal illness transmitted to humans from fruit bats and spreads among people through direct contact with the bodily fluids of infected individuals or contaminated materials.

The WHO and national authorities are scaling up the response, including community-wide screening, case isolation, treatment, contact tracing, and public awareness campaigns to curb the spread of the Marburg virus, which belongs to the same family of viruses as Ebola virus disease.

Currently, no approved Marburg vaccines are available.

However, in April 2025, the Albert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute recently launched a multi-site Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S. for its Marburg vaccine candidate, based on the cAd3 platform.

Currently, about five other Marburg vaccine candidates are being tested in clinical research.

Updated on November 17, 2025 - Organisations undertaking business in Ebola or Marburg-affected areas should register with the UK Health Security Agency returning workers scheme.

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced today its interim financial results for the first nine months of 2025 and business progress for the third quarter of 2025.

On November 14, 2025, the Company stated that its revenue for the first nine months increased by 32% to DKK 4,793 million, reflecting a strong performance in both Travel Health and Public Preparedness.

Specifically, travel Health revenue increased by 23% to DKK 2,327 million compared to the first nine months of 2024, primarily driven by increased demand for rabies and Tickborne encephalitis vaccines, and supported by the gradual launch of the chikungunya vaccine, Vimkunya®.

Vimkunya is available in the USA, Germany, and France . The global launch has continued throughout the third quarter of 2025, where the vaccine also became available in the United Kingdom and Denmark in September. Vimkunya was also launched in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy, and Spain in October.

On February 14, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Vimkunya for injection for individuals 12 years of age and older who are visiting chikungunya endemic areas such as Cuba.

This travel vaccine is commercailly offered at clinics and travel pharmacies in the USA.

Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (TCDC) recently announced four new locally transmitted cases of dengue fever, one each in Xizhi District of New Taipei City, Fengshan District of Kaohsiung City, and Wandan Township of Pingtung County.

The TCDC estimates that there may be a hidden source of this mosquito-transmitted virus in these communities.

Taiwan's public is urged to cooperate with health authorities' prevention and control measures, implement mosquito-breeding site elimination and control measures, and seek medical attention immediately if they develop suspected symptoms. 

According to statistics from the TCDC, as of November 10, 2025, there have been a total of 29 confirmed local dengue fever cases this year, residing in Kaohsiung City (14 cases), Taoyuan City (7 cases), Tainan City (3 cases), Pingtung County (2 cases), Yilan County, Taipei City, and New Taipei City (1 case each).

In addition, there have been a total of 223 imported cases, the third-highest number for the same period over the past six years. Most of these cases originated from Southeast Asian countries, with Indonesia (61 cases) being the most common, followed by Vietnam (56 cases), the Philippines (29 cases), and Thailand (23 cases).

The global dengue fever epidemic continues in 2025, with over 4.43 million cases already reported.

To alert international travelers to their health risk, the U.S. CDC has issued a Travel Health Notice regarding dengue outbreaks. As of November 13, 2025, the CDC has not included Taiwan.

From a disease prevention option, the second-generation QDENGA vaccine is authorized in a total of 41 countries.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that health authorities in Ethiopia are increasing their response and conducting further investigations following reports of suspected cases of viral hemorrhagic fever in the South Ethiopia Region.

As of November 13, 2025, the WHO has reported eight suspected cases in this region where about 7.5 million people live.

The South Ethiopia Regional State borders Kenya and South Sudan.

Laboratory testing is currently underway to determine the exact cause of these cases. Viral hemorrhagic fever is caused by several distinct families of viruses, including Marburg, Ebola, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Lassa fever.

Currently, only the Zaire Ebola virus has approved vaccines and antibody therapies.

In support of this investigation, the WHO has deployed an initial team of responders and delivered medical supplies to assist in the ongoing efforts to determine the cause of infection and halt further transmission. 

Previously, the U.S. CDC included Ethiopia in its Travel Health Notices for malaria, measles, and polio issued in 2025.

Germany's public health agency announced yesterday that Wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) had been recently detected in a sewage sample within this European country.

According to the Federal Ministry, the WPV1 virus likely entered Germany through an individual infected in either Pakistan or Afghanistan, the only two countries where wild polioviruses continue to spread. This type of poliovirus can cause poliomyelitis in people who are not vaccinated or are only partially vaccinated.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) wrote on November 12, 2025, that the risk to the general population from polioviruses is considered very low due to high vaccination rates and isolated detection in wastewater. No clinical cases of poliomyelitis have been reported to the RKI to date.

However, the occurrence of a clinical case in unvaccinated individuals cannot be ruled out.

Complete polio vaccination with the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) used in Germany provides reliable protection against the disease, but only limited protection against infection and transmission. 

In September 2025, Germany previously published answers to frequently asked questions about poliomyelitis with a focus on wastewater analysis.

A detailed article on this topic will be published in Epidemiological Bulletin 46/2025 on November 13, 2025.

Currently, Germany is mentioned in the U.S. CDC's Global Polio Travel Health Notice. The CDC also recommends that international travelers be vaccinated with the IPV before traveling abroad in 2025.