Search API
Speaking at a recent press conference, Jamaica's Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, CD MP, noted that while the Caribbean island country has managed the recent Leptospirosis outbreak following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, there is no great risk to tourists coming to Jamaica.'
According to the Minister on November 28, 2025, "We have discerned no great risk as it relates to facilities that cater to tourists, including hotels and attractions. There is a certification process that is required for these facilities, and this is done collaboratively with the local health and tourism authorities."
"We are not giving an advisory to discourage visitors, but to alert the vulnerable communities, which have been identified."
Jamacia reported that between October 30 and November 20, 2025, a total of 9 confirmed and 28 suspected cases of leptospirosis were reported in eight parishes, including St. Ann, St. Mary, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, St. Catherine, and Trelawny.
According to the U.S. CDC, Leptospirosis is a disease caused by the bacterium Leptospira and can be transmitted through contaminated water or soil. Without treatment, leptospirosis in people can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, trouble breathing, and even death.
Leptospirosis is found worldwide, including throughout the United States. About 1 million cases occur globally each year, with nearly 60,000 deaths.
As of December 2, 2025, the CDC has not issued a Travel Health Notice regarding this outbreak in Jamaica, and reports that no preventive vaccines are currently available for this disease.
The Republic of Haiti has the highest rate of human rabies in the Western Hemisphere, with infected dogs being the primary carriers of this severe virus.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Health Notice issued on November 25, 2025, there have been an increased cases of rabies reported in animals and humans in Haiti.
Additionally, one case of rabies has been reported in the U.S. in a traveler from Haiti.
The CDC writes that travelers to Haiti, located on the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, who may have been exposed to rabies, should immediately seek medical care. Upon returning home, travelers should follow up with their health care provider as soon as possible.
The CDC previously confirmed that rabies is a vaccine-preventable disease for both animals and people.
Achieving an estimated 80% vaccination coverage among Haiti's dog population, as recommended by PAHO's Regional Rabies Elimination Program and the Directors of Rabies Programs in the Americas, is expected to reduce rabies virus circulation in dogs significantly.
"Despite the challenges and limitations posed by the security situation and the overall instability in the country, we consider this vaccination campaign a significant success," said Dr Haïm Joseph Corvil, Protection Unit Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, in a previous PAHO media release.
And the CDC says: Consider getting vaccinated against rabies before travel if you might come into contact with dogs, cats, or wildlife, or plan to work with animals during a visit to Haiti.
In the United States, travel clinics and pharmacies currently offer preventive and reactive rabies vaccination services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the appointment of Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., as chief science officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the HHS's in-house think tank, providing policy advice to the Secretary.
Kulldorff is a biostatistician and epidemiologist with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
"Martin Kulldorff transformed ACIP from a rubber stamp into a committee that delivers gold-standard science for the American people," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a press release on December 1, 2025.
He recently chaired the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and previously taught at Harvard Medical School.
Before his leadership on ACIP, Kulldorff helped build the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine and drug safety surveillance systems by developing new statistical and epidemiological methods for the Vaccine Safety Datalink and Sentinel systems. He served on the FDA Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and on the ACIP COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group.
The ACIP committee is scheduled to meet for two days later this week under new leadership. The agenda for Thursday's meeting focuses on the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Republic of Indonesia and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the end of its poliovirus type 2 outbreak, which was caused by years of low polio immunization coverage.
The outbreak began in October 2022, when the first confirmed case was reported in Aceh province. Over the next two years, polio cases appeared in the provinces of Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Maluku, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua.
The last confirmed case was in South Papua on June 27, 2024.
During the response, nearly 60 million additional doses of the polio vaccine were administered to children.
Indonesia's response included two rounds of nationwide polio campaigns using novel OPV-2 (nOPV2) vaccine between the end of 2022 and the third trimester of 2024.
In parallel, routine immunization coverage also improved, with the percentage of children receiving their second dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) rising from 63% (1.9 million children) in 2023 to 73% (3.2 million children) in 2024.
"Indonesia's success marks a vital step towards a polio-free world. It also reinforces the entire WHO Western Pacific Region's ability to retain its polio-free status, an achievement we proudly reached 25 years ago," noted Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, in a press release on November 21, 2025.
"I urge all our 38 countries and areas to remain vigilant."
"One day, polio will be just a memory. Until then, we vaccinate."
As of late 2025, over 2 billion doses of the nOPV2 vaccine have been administered globally.
To highlight this risk to international travelers, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions notice, which identifies 32 countries, and suggested IPV booster doses for certain people.
Over the last few decades, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued recommendations on vaccine use for the civilian population of the United States.
According to the draft agenda for the ACIP meeting posted on December 1, 2025, this Thursday's topics will include updates from the CDC, specifically regarding the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The ACIP includes up to 19 voting members who make vaccine recommendations selected by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The CDC says, 'The best way to prevent hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated.'
Then, on December 5, 2025, presentations of the ACIP Workgroups, CDC Vaccine Risk Monitoring Evaluation, Vaccine Schedule History, Childhood/Adolescent Immunization Schedule Discussion and Considerations.
Previous ACIP meeting agendas and presentations are posted on this CDC webpage.
Recently, the World Health Organization stated that available data indicate that during 2024 and 2025, poliovirus has spread geographically alongside continued transmission within core reservoir areas in both polio-endemic countries.
To highlight this severe health risk, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions notice, which now identifies 32 countries.
This list includes Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
The CDC statement issued on November 25, 2025, says that before traveling to any destination listed, adults who previously completed the entire routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.
When departing from the USA, polio vaccination services are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a Travel Health Notice regarding the expanding health risk of contracting the rabies virus when visiting India. And the CDC reaffirmed the risk of fake rabies vaccinations.
On November 25, 2025, the CDC posted a Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions notice stating a case of Rabies had been reported in the U.S. in a traveler from India. Travelers potentially exposed to Rabies in India should immediately seek local medical care.
This advice is essential as Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. Last year, India's National Centre for Disease Control recorded 54 suspected rabies deaths.
The CDC says upon returning home, travelers should follow up with their health care provider as soon as possible. And in the USA, infected bats are the leading source of infection in people.
To prevent contracting rabies, travelers to India should avoid all contact with dogs, cats, and other wild mammals.
And consider getting vaccinated against Rabies before traveling abroad.
In the United States, rabies vaccines are available at pharmacies and travel clinics.
In India, the circulation of counterfeit ABHAYRAB human rabies vaccine has recently been reported in major cities. Counterfeit vaccines may not be effective in the prevention of Rabies and could contain harmful ingredients, says the CDC.
