Coronavirus Breaking News

The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced two very positive trends related to the 7th cholera global outbreak.

On February 20, 2025, the WHO confirmed a 27% decrease in cholera cases since December 2024. A total of 34,799 new cholera and/or Acute Watery Diarrhoea cases were reported from 19 countries, territories, and areas across three WHO regions.

The period also saw a 33% decrease in related fatalities from the previous month.

This decrease was recorded despite a new cholera outbreak in Angola.

Additionally, the WHO reported that in January 2025, Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) production reached 6.2 million doses, a recent high point compared to December 2024, when 5.5 million doses were produced.

This progress follows introducing and prequalifying a new vaccine formulation and manufacturing process earlier in 2024.

However, the current OCV production has yet to meet growing global demand, and demand continues to exceed supply, says the WHO.

In the United States, OCVs will be offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in 2025.

The World Health Organization says streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths globally, and new, innovative vaccines are needed to curtail this disease.

To address this need, Vaxcyte, Inc. recently announced that the first study participants had been dosed in the second and final stage of the ongoing Phase 2 study of VAX-31 in healthy infants.

This clinical study evaluates the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of VAX-31, a 31-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidate designed to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in healthy infants.

“PCVs have demonstrated the ability to deliver herd immunity to protect against devastating diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, and our technology has the potential to deliver best-in-class PCVs with broader coverage for both infants and adults,” said Jim Wassil, Executive Vice President, and Chief Operating Officer of Vaxcyte, in a press release on February 5, 2025.

“Based on the body of positive evidence from the VAX-31 and VAX-24 adult Phase 1/2 programs, we believe our carrier-sparing platform has the potential to set a new standard in disease coverage.”

The Company expects to share topline data from the primary three-dose immunization series of the study in mid-2026, followed by topline data from the booster dose approximately nine months later.

In children under five. Pneumococci also cause over 50% of all cases of bacterial meningitis in the U.S. And pneumococcal pneumonia is estimated to result in approximately 150,000 hospitalizations yearly. 

And Streptococcus pneumoniae is among the top antibiotic-resistant pathogens to be urgently addressed, and the U.S. CDC lists drug-resistant  Streptococcus pneumoniae as a “serious threat.”

This indicates the need for expanding PCV vaccinations is essential.

The continued detection of poliovirus in wastewater in 2025 signals the ongoing risk to children in the Gaza Strip. The virus poses a severe risk to children with low or no immunity throughout the region.

As poliovirus is found to remain in the environment, additional vaccination efforts are needed to strengthen population immunity.

Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a third polio vaccination campaign to protect more children from this debilitating disease.

As of February 19, 2025, the WHO confirmed that over 591,000 children under 10 will receive the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) in late February to protect them from polio.

Two previous vaccination rounds in the Gaza Strip were conducted in September and October 2024, and they reached over 95% of the target.

According to the WHO and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the nOPV2 vaccine, which has been 'triple-locked' using genetic engineering to prevent it from becoming harmful and producing a mutation, has been deployed over 1 billion times over the last few years.

To alert international travelers to this polio risk, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 2 Practice Enhanced Precautions, Global Polio Advisory, on January 14, 2025. The CDC says that before any trip to known poliovirus areas, you should ensure you are up to date on your polio vaccines.

In the United States, the single-antigen inactivated poliovirus vaccine has been available at clinics and pharmacies since 2000.

Without an approved Lyme disease vaccine available, many people who enjoy the outdoors have concerns about planning hikes for Spring 2025. According to the World Health Organization, Lyme disease cases are common and expanding in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

But there is hope on the horizon.

Vaneva SE announced on February 18, 2025, that the first data readout for the Lyme disease vaccine candidate (VLA15) phase 3 is expected by the end of 2025.

This indicates that regulatory agencies may consider authorization in 2026. Valneva'shler, Valneva's Chief Financial Officer, commented in a press release, "Once again, we successfully delivered double-digit sales growth ...We made significant clinical and regulatory progress last year, setting the stage for several important catalysts to drive value in 2025, most notably with the first Phase 3 study results for our lead Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15."

VLA15 is a multivalent recombinant protein vacBorrelia'sting Borrelia's outer surface protein A (OspA). It is designed for protective, active immunization against most human pathogenic Borrelia species. OspA is one of the most dominant surface proteins expressed by the bacteria when present in a tick bite.

A study published in late 2024 determined that 50% of adult blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, while up to 25% of the younger (nymph) blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria.

Until a preventive vaccine becomes commercially available, avoiding tick bites is the best way to prevent Lyme disease.

GSK plc recently announced its MenABCWY vaccine PENMENVY could simplify meningococcal vaccination delivery and help protect more U.S. adolescents against these five common disease-causing serogroups – A, B, C, W, and Y, which commonly cause invasive meningococcal disease (IMD)/

To help realize that goal, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved PENMENVY for use in individuals aged 10 through 25 years.

The vaccine combines the antigenic components of GSK's meningococcal vaccines, BEXSERO (Meningococcal Group B Vaccine) and MENVEO (Meningococcal [Groups A, C, Y, and W-135] Oligosaccharide Diphtheria CRM197 Conjugate Vaccine).

Tony Wood, GSK's chief scientific officer, said in a February 14, 2025 press release, "We are excited about the opportunities ahead to help improve meningococcal vaccination coverage in the United States, especially for IMD caused by serogroup B."

"Building on our global leadership in meningococcal vaccination and our longstanding commitment to addressing unmet needs in disease prevention, we aim to help protect more teens and young adults at a life stage when they are at an increased risk."

A positive vote on PENMENVY's use is expected at the U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on February 26, 2025.

The first participants have been vaccinated in a Phase 1 clinical study of a multivalent vaccine candidate designed to prevent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

S. aureus infections pose a significant global health challenge, causing an estimated 1 million deaths annually. Notably, 90% of all community-acquired S. aureus infections are SSTIs.

Furthermore, the World Health Organization has designated S. aureus a "high priority" pathogen, underscoring the urgency of developing innovative vaccine approaches and effective treatment strategies.

To address this essential health need, LimmaTech Biologics AG today announced that its LBT-SA7 vaccine candidate is expected to enroll 130 healthy adults aged 18-50 years, with initial results anticipated in the second half of 2025.

The company also announced the award of $6.5 million from the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) to advance the clinical development of LBT-SA7.

"Developing an S. aureus vaccine has long been a significant scientific challenge," explained Dr. Patricia Martin-Killias, Chief Operating Officer of LimmaTech, in a press release on February 17, 2025.

"We believe LBT-SA7 has the potential to provide a much-needed solution for those suffering from S. aureus infections. We are excited to launch the first-in-human clinical trial for LBT-SA7, bringing us closer to addressing an urgent global health challenge."

S. aureus is a Gram-positive bacterial pathogen that affects approximately 30% of the human population and causes a spectrum of infections, from SSTIs to severe conditions like pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

The company says traditional antibiotic treatments, both oral therapy and intravenous administration reserved for severe cases, have become increasingly less effective due to the rise of antibiotic resistance.

Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services partly fund CARB-X's funding for this project.

The initial Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) case during the summer of 2025 in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) was likely acquired in the Murrumbidgee region. A previous case was identified in a resident of northern Victoria in January 2025.

On February 15, 2025, NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection, Dr. Jeremy McAnulty, said this recent case, which is currently recovering in hospital, will likely have acquired the infection in late December (2024) or early January while on holiday.

"This case, along with recent detections in pigs and mosquitoes in NSW and detections in Victoria and Queensland, highlights the risk of JE virus infection in a large stretch of NSW west of the Great Dividing Range," Dr McAnulty said in a press release.

"It is essential for people who live in or travel to these areas to be aware of the elevated risk and to take precautions against mosquito bites."

"Importantly, there is a safe, effective, and free vaccine to protect against JE which is available to anyone who lives or routinely works in various inland LGAs as well as for people who work in some other high-risk occupations."

In Australia, Valneva SE's IXIARO® —JESPECT® JEV vaccine is available through local General Practitioners, Aboriginal health services, and pharmacists. In 2025, this vaccine will be commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in the United States.

As of February 16, 2025, JEV is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in twenty-four countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions, exposing more than 3 billion people to infection risks.