Coronavirus Breaking News

As the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season diminishes in 2025, most European adults are gaining access to an innovative vaccine.

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the European Commission (EC) has issued a decision amending the marketing authorization for ABRYSVO®, the company’s bivalent RSV prefusion F vaccine, to extend the indication to include prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by RSV in individuals 18 through 59 years of age.

This action by the EC expands the previous authorization for individuals aged 60 and older, and ABRYSVO now offers the broadest RSV vaccine indication in the EU.

“We are thrilled that ABRYSVO is now approved in the EU to help prevent RSV in adults aged 18 and older, which causes approximately 158,000 adult hospital admissions annually from RSV disease, a common respiratory virus with symptoms that can be severe or even life-threatening,” said Alexandre de Germay, Chief International Commercial Officer, Executive Vice President, Pfizer, in a press release on April 1, 2025.

In Europe, RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes mild, cold-like symptoms. However, in infants under six months of age, people over 65, and people with a compromised immune system, RSV can cause severe illness and death.

According to the ECDC on April 2, 2025, RSV activity peaked in the EU/EEA in week 52, 2024, and has since decreased, but has remained elevated, with considerable variation between countries.

Before visiting Europe, travel clinics and pharmacies in the United States offer RSV vaccination services.

As the global outbreak of the Chikungunya virus continues to expand in India, Brazil, and La Réunion, European adolescents can now receive an effective vaccine that protects them from this mosquito-transmitted disease.

On April 1, 2025, Valneva SE announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted marketing authorization in Europe for Valneva’s single-dose vaccine, IXCHIQ®, for the prevention of disease caused by the chikungunya virus in individuals 12 years of age and older.

With this approval, IXCHIQ® will become available for adolescents in the EU, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland.

In addition to the EC's approval in adolescents and adults in the EU, it has been approved in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to prevent diseases caused by the chikungunya virus in individuals 18 and older. Similar label extension applications for adolescents were also submitted in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

Dr. Richard Hatchett, Chief Executive Officer of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, commented in a media release, “Cases of chikungunya are increasing around the world, making populations of all ages vulnerable to the disease’s long-term debilitating effects, such as prolonged joint pain and inflammation."

"EC’s marketing authorization for use of IXCHIQ® in adolescents in the EU is an important stepping stone that could help accelerate the approval of the vaccine in this age group in other regions, including areas where the disease is endemic.”

In the United States, IXCHIQ is commercially available at most travel clinics and pharmacies and is recommended by the U.S. CDC for people visiting Chikungunya endemic areas in 2025.

Following the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, the number of paralytic poliomyelitis cases was reduced by about 99% globally, with wild-type PV1 remaining endemic in only Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, the World Health Organization recently reconfirmed that the spread of the poliovirus remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. For example, the U.S. CDC identified polio outbreaks and poliovirus detections in 39 countries in 2025.

To address these concerns, a recent study highlighted the benefits of an innovative polio vaccine candidate.

According to a study published by NPJ Vaccines on March 31, 2025, the success of the poliovirus (PV) vaccines has enabled the near-eradication of wild PV. Their continued post-eradication use poses concerns due to the 'potential for virus escape during vaccine manufacture.'

While the current generation of PV vaccines has achieved great success, the continued use of oral PV has facilitated the continued appearance of circulating vaccine-derived PV (cVDPV), which now outnumbers wild PV cases yearly. 

These researchers wrote, 'Recombinant virus-like particles (VLPs) that lack the viral genome remove this risk.'

They demonstrate the production of PV VLPs for all three serotypes by controlled fermentation using Pichia pastoris.

The cryo-EM structure of a new PV2 mutant, SC5a, was determined compared to PV2-SC6 b VLPs described previously, and the immunogenicity of PV2-SC5a VLPs was investigated.

Finally, a trivalent immunogenicity trial using bioreactor-derived VLPs of all three serotypes in the presence of Alhydrogel adjuvant showed that these VLPs outperform the current IPV vaccine in the standard vaccine potency assay, offering the potential for dose-sparing.

Overall, 'these results provide further evidence that yeast-produced VLPs have the potential to be a next-generation polio vaccine in a post-eradication world.'

'The most important pre-requisite of any next-generation PV vaccine is that it elicits the same long-lasting immunity against disease as the current vaccine.'

Over the past few years, PT Biofarma has produced the type 2 novel oral polio (nOPV2) vaccine, derived from the live, infectious virus and 'triple-locked.' The nOPV2 vaccine is reported to be more genetically stable than previous oral polio vaccines, with a lower risk of reversion to neurovirulence.

It has been administered over 1.1 billion times, mainly in Africa.

Since 2000, the IPV has been the standard polio vaccine offered in the United States, and booster doses are suggested when visiting poliovirus outbreak areas.

Nipah virus, one of the deadliest pathogens known to infect humans, lacks a preventive vaccine. To accelerate the development of a Nipah vaccine candidate, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) provides up to $13.38 million in funding for a pioneering self-amplifying mRNA (saRNA) vaccine candidate.

Gennova Biopharmaceuticals Limited developed this innovative solution and is teaming up with Houston Methodist Research Institute, a Texas-based institution.

They will use their cutting-edge AI technology to optimise the properties of proteins derived from the virus that could stimulate the immune system and serve as optimal vaccine targets for Gennova to investigate.

“Wi"h no vaccines or specific therapeutics approved for human use against Nipah, CEPI is leading the charge to protect the world against this deadly virus committing over $100 million to its Nipah programmes and advancing the first ever Nipah vaccine candidates into Phase 1 studies and through to completion," said Dr. Kent Kester, Executive Director of Vaccine Research and Development at CEPI, in a press release on March 30, 2025. 

“Gennova will not only help establish the suitability of the saRNA platform for use against Nipah but also its suitability as part of a wider group of RNA technologies that could enable rapid responses to future Disease X threats, potentially within 100 days of identification.”

I" August 2023, CEPI initially provided up to $3.6 million to support the optimization of Gennova' sRNA-platform technology to develop vaccine candidates against unknown pathogenic threats known as Disease X.

The initial tranche of funding was part of CEPI's program to support novel RNA vaccine platform technologies for emerging and select endemic infectious diseases. These technologies could offer substantial advantages over existing mRNA technologies, such as multivalency, improved immunogenicity, storage and stability, productivity, response time, and cost-of-goods.

To help guide a path forward, the WHO's roadmap for Nipah virus research priorities (2024–29) outlines ambitious milestones for advancing diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.

As of March 31, 2025, Nipah outbreaks have been confined to South and Southeast Asia. However, the fruit bat vector is found in large geographical areas across the globe, covering a population of more than 2 billion people. 

According to the U.S. CDC, around 40%–70% of people infected with the Nipah virus may die.

As the seventh cholera pandemic continues in three World Health Organization (WHO) regions in late March 2025, countries in Africa have been severely impacted by these acute diarrheal infections.

Since January 2025, the Republic of Angola has been experiencing a significant cholera outbreak. The disease can cause severe acute watery diarrhea, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality.

As of March 23, 2025, a total of 8,543 cases and 329 deaths have been reported, resulting in a case fatality rate of 3.9% in this northwestern African country.

The outbreak has spread rapidly to 16 of Angola's 21 provinces, with the highest burden among those under 20. 

Angola shares borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, both of which are currently experiencing cholera outbreaks. 

As of March 29, 2025, the WHO's Disease Outbreak News wrote, 'Given the rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak, the ongoing rainy season, and cross-border movement with neighboring countries, the WHO assesses the risk of further transmission in Angola and surrounding areas as very high.'

Furthermore, due to the cholera outbreak, the WHO does not recommend travel or trade restrictions to and from Angola.

To reduce this outbreak, Angola's Ministry of Health, with support from others, carried out a five-day reactive vaccination campaign in January 2025. Over 900,000 people were vaccinated, and 700,000 additional doses of oral cholera vaccines arrived in the country in mid-March for a second reactive campaign.

While the U.S. CDC has not issued a Travel Health Advisory regarding Angola's outbreak, the agency writes, 'cholera vaccination may be considered for children and adults traveling to areas of active cholera transmission.'

In the United States, cholera vaccines are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in 2025.

Historically, most mainland Australian states have reported cases of locally acquired dengue fever. In January 2025, 261 notifications of dengue cases throughout Australia were received.

So far this year, the disease has significantly impacted Australia's northeast coast.

Queensland Health declared a Dengue outbreak centered in Townsville City LGA on February 19, 2025, and as of March 25, 2025, 11 cases (9 confirmed, two probable) had been reported.

Townsville Public Health Unit director Dr Steven Donohue said in a recent press release that they have started a full-scale dengue outbreak response.

Teams from Townsville HHS and Townsville City Council are talking to residents in nearby homes in North Ward to warn them of the dengue outbreak, inspect their properties, and carry out any mosquito-mitigation activities," Dr Donohue said.

"It is important for residents to take dengue precautions."

"Therefore, it's imperative to tip out anything holding water around your house. They'll breed in junk, tyres, and pot plant bases. Tip those out. Have a dry yard as much as possible.

"Make sure to spray dark, damp hiding places inside your house. Use surface spray or long-acting insecticide – under the sink, in the bathroom, or the laundry, all of those hiding places. That's a great way to get rid of these mosquitoes."

Dr. Donohue added that it is vital for anyone feeling unwell to see a doctor.

As of March 29, 2025, dengue vaccines are authorized in Australia and most Asia / Pacific countries.