Coronavirus Breaking News

Health authorities in West Bengal, India, recently issued a high alert after detecting two suspected cases of the Nipah virus (NiV) at the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Indian Council of Medical Research at AIIMS Kalyani.

The cases, identified on January 11, 2026, involve two nurses who work at a private hospital in Barasat, in the North 24 Parganas district, near the Bangladesh border.

Both patients are in critical condition and are receiving ventilator support while in isolation, with preliminary tests indicating a possible Nipah infection.

According to local media reports on January 13, 2026, the Nipah virus was first identified during the 1998-1999 Malaysian outbreak and has since caused sporadic, high-fatality outbreaks in South Asia. 

Previous confirmed NiV cases in India were reported from Kerala state, specifically in the districts of Malappuram and Palakkad, along India's southwest coast.

According to the WHO's Disease Outbreak News in August 2025, four confirmed NiV cases, including two deaths, were reported in 2025.

As of 2026, there is no licensed Nipah vaccine available for humans, but research has accelerated due to the virus's priority status from the World Health Organization.

Key vaccine candidates include subunit vaccines targeting the fusion protein that have shown promise in Phase I trials for safety and immune response.

The University of Oxford launched the world's first Phase II trial in late 2025.

Other research platforms are exploring mRNA and peptide-based approaches.

According to research, vaccine experts estimate that a licensed vaccine could be available within five years, says Don Hackett, publisher of Vax-Before-Travel.com.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) today announced it is enhancing wildlife rabies prevention efforts in far West Texas.

Announced on January 13, 2026, the 32nd annual Oral Rabies Vaccination Program (ORVP) aims to protect both people and animals by vaccinating wildlife along the Texas-Mexico border.

Funded by the State of Texas and others, the ORVP has successfully reduced rabies cases significantly since it began over 30 years ago.

Last year, DSHS reported 19 confirmed positive rabies cases in animals from January to June 2025.

Additionally, the ORVP is now expanding to address the Arizona fox rabies variant from New Mexico, located 150 miles away.

Aerial bait distribution, a key component of the program, will begin from Alpine on January 16, 2026, and from Del Rio International Airport on January 21, weather permitting.

These efforts will occur in the Border Maintenance Zone, covering 19 counties, including El Paso, Hudspeth, and Cameron, as well as targeted urban areas around El Paso.

The vaccine baits, small plastic packets dipped in fish oil and fishmeal, are designed to attract wildlife like coyotes and foxes but pose no threat to pets or livestock.

The two-week operation will involve six to nine flights per day, dropping about 693,600 baits at a density of 50 baits per square mile. Residents should leave found baits undisturbed and can report any concerns to DSHS at 1-877-722-6725 or 512-776-7676.

DSHS continues to monitor all Texas counties for rabies outbreaks, such as red foxes near Austin, Texas.

For more information, visit the DSHS Oral Rabies Vaccination Program page.

Furthermore, rabies vaccines are available from various clinics throughout the United States.

As we enter 2026, cholera outbreaks continue to be a significant global threat, despite decades of progress in controlling this severe disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded seven cholera pandemics in the last two centuries, with the current seventh pandemic beginning in South Asia in 1961 and still ongoing.

As of December 31, 2025, the WHO has reported a total of 601,845 cholera cases and 7,671 deaths across 31 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

These numbers indicate persistent transmission across various WHO regions, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean and African regions, which bear the most significant burden.

Preliminary data for 2025 suggest that case numbers and mortality rates are higher than in previous years. In lower-risk areas, such as the EU/EEA, cholera is uncommon and typically linked to travel from endemic regions.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on January 9, 2026, only 12 confirmed cases were reported across five EU/EEA countries in 2023.

This is a slight increase from 29 cases in 2022, two cases in 2021, and none in 2020.

All recent cases involved individuals with a travel history to affected areas. The WHO highlights vaccination as a crucial strategy in controlling cholera, especially for high-risk groups.

Oral cholera vaccines (OCVs), including WHO-prequalified options like Dukoral®, Euvichol-Plus®, and Euvichol-S®, are recommended for travelers at higher risk of exposure. Travelers planning to visit regions with active cholera transmission should consult travel health clinics to evaluate their personal risk factors and determine if an OCV immunization is appropriate in 2026.

When departing from the USA, OCVs are available at travel clinics in most states.

However, the WHO noted that increased OCV production has yet to meet growing global needs.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recently confirmed that an outbreak of rabies in wildlife across Hays County and the Austin metropolitan area, primarily affecting red foxes.

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra issued a public health notice on Facebook on January 10, 2026, to alert residents about the situation. While officials have emphasized that there is no imminent threat to human life, rabies remains a serious and potentially fatal disease that can spread to pets, livestock, and humans through exposure, such as bites or scratches from infected animals.

Texas residents are advised to avoid approaching or handling any wildlife, especially if the animals appear disoriented, aggressive, or unusually tame. Hays County officials are working closely with local healthcare providers, veterinary services, and animal control agencies to monitor the outbreak and ensure readiness.

The Health Department says to protect themselves, their families, and their animals, officials recommend getting pets and livestock vaccinated against rabies as soon as possible. Texas law requires dogs and cats to be vaccinated.

Free rabies vaccination clinics are available in the county for animals, including one on January 17, 2025, at the PALS Clinic in San Marcos, TX.

While foxes are common carriers of the virus in central Texas, most rabies cases in the United States are related to bat bites. Travis County, which includes the Austin metro area, had the highest number of reported rabies cases with 68 cases (63 of which were bats) in 2024.

In 2025, DSHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted air-dropping of oral rabies vaccines in several states to help reduce wildlife outbreaks.

For humans, DSHS confirms rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease. Two types of vaccines protect people against rabies: nerve tissue and cell culture vaccines.

While the Zika virus (ZIKV) has faded mainly from global headlines since the major outbreaks of 2015-2016, low-level transmission of this mosquito-borne and sexually transmitted virus continues in parts of Mexico, according to recent data from health authorities.

As of January 11, 2026, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Mexico's National Epidemiological Surveillance System report that Mexico confirmed 30 autochthonous (locally acquired) Zika cases in 2024, with only four additional cases reported in 2025.

The three Mexican states with the highest number of ZIKV-positive cases during that outbreak were Veracruz, Nuevo León, and Yucatán. These areas, particularly in coastal and lowland regions, remain at-risk for millions of visitors each year due to the presence of Aedes mosquitoes.

A study published in October 2025 analyzed data from the 2016-2018 outbreak period in Mexico, reviewing 13,259 suspected ZIKV cases tested by RT-qPCR from August 2016 to January 2018. Of these cases, 10.7% (1,419) tested positive for Zika virus disease (ZVD).

Notably, 25% (3,313) of the ZIKV-positive cases were in pregnant women, highlighting the ongoing risk to maternal and fetal health during periods of higher virus circulation.

The PAHO and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say ZIKV infection during pregnancy can lead to serious complications, such as congenital Zika syndrome, which includes microcephaly and other congenital disabilities.

The CDC classifies Mexico as having current or past Zika transmission and ZVD, which indicates a potential risk.

However, as of January 11, 2026, no CDC Travel Health Notice for Zika is in effect for Mexico. The CDC has shifted away from blanket recommendations against travel for pregnant women to Mexico but continues to advise caution.

These health agencies advise travelers, especially pregnant women or those planning pregnancy, to take strict measures to prevent mosquito bites when visiting at-risk areas such as Mexico.

Although there is currently no Zika vaccine available, clinical research continues.

Recent data from PAHO dashboards indicate that sporadic Zika confirmations have been reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Peru.

The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) issued an alert today regarding the possibility of earlier or more intense respiratory virus activity during the 2025-26 season compared to previous years.

As of January 9, 2026, PAHO/WHO recommends that Member States remain vigilant to adjust their health service preparedness and organizational plans in anticipation of possible concurrent outbreaks of seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

Globally, influenza activity has increased since late 2025.

Some countries are reporting an early onset of the influenza season, with influenza A(H3N2) viruses being the most predominant, while A(H1N1)pdm09 is the primary strain in the Andean subregion.

In the Americas Region, the influenza positivity rate remains above 10% in the Northern Hemisphere. The intensity of activity varies, with positivity levels approaching 20% in the Caribbean and Central America.

Countries such as Barbados, Canada, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and the United States are reporting high levels of influenza circulation.

In contrast, RSV circulation remains low.

Regarding this season's flu shots' effectiveness, many are questioning whether the updated vaccines provide adequate protection against the disease.

A study from the University of Pennsylvania released on January 6, 2026, found that while subclade K viruses are antigenically advanced compared to the vaccine strain, the 2025-2026 vaccine still elicited robust antibody responses in many participants.

Furthermore, the PAHO/WHO recommends flu shots for international travelers before visiting outbreak areas.

Access to influenza vaccines remains robust in the USA, with most clinics and pharmacies offering services as of January 10, 2026.

As the global effort to eradicate polio intensifies in 2026, needle-free technology is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East and surrounding regions.

In a notable advancement for polio eradication in one of the world's last endemic countries, Afghanistan's polio program began using needle-free technology for the first time in late 2025.

During a multi-phase fractional inactivated polio vaccine (fIPV) campaign in Afghanistan's eastern region, the initiative targeted over 1.2 million children across 50 districts in four provinces.

The new intradermal jet injectors—also known as needle-free devices—were combined with the oral polio vaccine (OPV) to enhance immunity against wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1).

This innovative approach provided children with both a fractional IPV dose via jet injector and the oral vaccine, offering dual layers of protection against polio.

The PharmaJet Tropis® ID system, a WHO-prequalified needle-free injector, delivered tiny, precise streams of the fractional-dose IPV through the skin in a split second. This painless method eliminated the need for needles, reducing fear among children and caregivers while improving acceptance in remote and high-risk communities.

Speaking about the campaign to the Polio Eradication Initiative on January 1, 2026, polio vaccinator Mohammad Ibrahim expressed his excitement in a press release: "It is much easier than needle injections. I'm confident to go into the field and vaccinate children."

Vaccinator Zahir Islam noted that when communities learned the device was needle-free and painless, they became eager to participate. Community and religious leaders endorsed the method as safer and faster, helping to rebuild trust in vaccination efforts. This campaign not only provided essential protection but also strengthened community engagement in a region critical to global polio eradication.

As of late 2025, Afghanistan had reported around 9 WPV1 cases, confirmed in provinces like Uruzgan, Helmand, Badghis, Nuristan, Paktika, and Farah.

This new, large-scale introduction builds on the successful use of the Tropis system in countries like Egypt.

In November 2025, PharmaJet announced the incorporation of Tropis into immunization programs, supporting Egypt's "1000 Golden Days" initiative.

These polio eradication programs are essential, as a WHO Committee unanimously concluded in 2025, the risk of the international spread of poliovirus continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

In the long term, the manufacturing of Tropis and other needle-free product development initiatives may expand the benefits of vaccination against other infectious diseases and enhance pandemic preparedness.