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Located on Brazil's northern coast, Marajó Island has been reporting yellow fever outbreaks for two decades. Recently, a severe outbreak has been confirmed.
As of March 7, 2025, Brazil's Ministry of Health confirmed 37 cases and five related deaths from the mosquito-transmitted yellow fever disease in the Belém area of Pará this year.
This area has about 500,000 residents and welcomes thousands of eco-friendly tourists annually.
Yellow fever is an acute infectious febrile disease that can be prevented with a vaccine. It progresses rapidly and has variable severity, and in its most severe forms, it can be fatal.
Locally acquired YF cases are seldom reported in the United States, but travel-related cases were reported in 2024.
Vaccination has been the primary prevention strategy in Brazil since 2014. Currently, yellow fever (YF) vaccination coverage is 72.6%.
YF vaccines are free of charge to the entire population. Since April 2017, Brazil has adopted a single-dose regimen throughout life, following the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommendations.
The Ministry of Health sent 442,400 doses to Pará in 2025 alone to reinforce YF immunization.
The WHO, U.S. CDC, and Brazil have issued vaccination requirements to enter various countries in the Region of the Americas. YF vaccination services are offered at certified travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.
A recent change has been reported in the Republic of Paraguay's multi-year Dengue virus outbreak. Over the past 37 years, all four Dengue serotypes of the mosquito-transmitted virus have been recorded.
Recently, DENV-1 and 2 have been identified as the sources of Parauay's outbreaks.
However, as of March 2025, DENV-3 reappeared in the country after almost a decade of absence.
According to the recent weekly report of Health Surveillance, the first two cases of DENV-3 have been confirmed in Paraguay. This finding concerns public health as DENV-3 has been reported to be more infectious than the other subtypes.
Paraguay has been considered a Dengue endemic country by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) since 2009, meaning that the virus circulates throughout the year, with peaks generally occurring between March and April and a decline in May.
Following a record-setting 2024, Paraguay has already reported 7,487 Dengue cases in 2025.
To notify international travelers of this health risk, the U.S. CDC recently updated a Global Travel Health Advisory and identified more than expected Dengue cases among travelers returning to the U.S., such as in Florida.
In 2024, about 1 million travelers visited Paraguay.
According to the PAHO, Dengue is a vaccine-preventable disease. Approved vaccines are available in various countries but not the United States.
With about 90% of the world's malaria cases reported in Africa, one country is taking action to curtail the impact of this mosquito-transmitted disease.
On March 7, 2025, Uganda's Minister of Health, Hon. Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Ocero, approved the distribution of 2.278 million doses of malaria vaccines to 105 districts. This effort is a significant milestone in the country's fight against malaria.
Malaria remains the leading cause of illness and death of young children in Uganda. The malaria vaccine will be introduced into the routine immunisation schedule in April 2025, targeting children below two years old.
Speaking at the flag-off event, Dr Aceng emphasised in a press release the government's commitment to strengthening disease prevention efforts and building resilient health systems." Introducing the malaria vaccine in Uganda is a historic step forward in our fight against this deadly disease."
"With the support of Gavi, UNICEF and other partners, we are ensuring that every eligible child has access to this life-saving intervention," the Minister stated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends malaria vaccinations to prevent P. falciparum malaria in children living in malaria-endemic areas. As of March 10, 2025, the WHO and the African CDC recommend Mosquirix™ and R21 / Matrix-M™ vaccines for travelers visiting malaria-endemic countries.
Currently, malaria vaccines are not offered in the United States.
While most measles cases reported in the United States are in children, new data from Lea County, New Mexico, indicates the current outbreak is different.
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) confirmed on March 8, 2025, that of the total 30 measles cases since February 9, 2025, all have been residents of Lea County and include 26 adults and four children under the age of 17.
Health officials emphasize this is not a rapidly expanding measles outbreak.
These cases did not occur simultaneously but were identified by the NMDOH Scientific Laboratory Division, retrospectively, with many detected only after patients had recovered from their illness.
“The large majority of Lea County residents are vaccinated and well-protected even if they come into contact with the virus,” said Dr. Miranda Durham, NMDOH Chief Medical Officer, in a press release.
According to NMDOH and the U.S. CDC, vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from the contagious measles virus.
To alert visitors to this area of east New Mexico and a section of western Texas during the spring and summer travel season in the United States, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network on March 7, 2025.
The CDC has reported 222 measles cases in twelve U.S. jurisdictions this year, and the risk for widespread measles outbreaks in the U.S. remains low due to robust immunization and surveillance programs.
However, the CDC has issued Travel Health Advisories identifying numerous countries reporting measles outbreaks in 2025.
The Philippines's most populous city, Quezon City, has been a well-known hub for business activities and tourism as the city of stars in Asia. Unfortunately, it has become a hot spot for the mosquito-transmitted Dengue virus in 2025.
From January to March 9, 2025, the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division of Quezon City recorded 3,608 Dengue cases and 12 related fatalities, a significant (300%) increase from 2024.
Overall, Quezon City has about 3 million residents and is 12 miles northeast of the capital city of Manila. Most of the Dengue cases have been reported in District #2 this year.
Previously, the City's Health Department declared a Dengue outbreak.
“Our declaration of a dengue outbreak ensures that we are on top of the situation, and we are doing everything we can to protect our residents from this deadly disease, especially our children,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a February 27, 2025, press release.
Recently, the Global Dengue Travel Health Advisory, updated by the U.S. CDC, highlighted the Philippines, saying that this disease is a year-round risk in many parts of the world, including the United States.
As of March 2025, there have been 893 Dengue cases reported in 23 U.S. jurisdictions this year, led by Florida.
While Dengue vaccines are no longer available in the U.S., the CDC recommends discussing immunization options with a travel vaccine expert.
Before visiting the Philippines, the CDC also suggests that future travelers discuss chikungunya, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria prevention options. And under International Health Regulations, proof of vaccination against yellow fever is required for certain travelers arriving from countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission in 2025.
While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) generally issued disease outbreak alerts for other countries, it issued an official Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory (CDCHAN-00522) to notify clinicians, public health officials, and potential travelers about a measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico.
On March 7, 2025, areas in Texas (Lubbock, Houston, and Austin) and New Mexico reported 208 confirmed cases associated with this outbreak (198 in Texas and 10 in New Mexico). As a part of this outbreak, two deaths have been reported: one in Texas and one in New Mexico.
This HAN stated, 'With spring and summer travel season approaching... more cases are expected as this outbreak continues to expand.'
Talk to your doctor about the MMR vaccine, especially if you or your child plan to travel to an area with an ongoing outbreak. As of March 2025, various MMR vaccines are available.
If you plan to travel internationally, check your destination and the CDC's Global Measles Travel Health Notice for more travel health advice. The Notice includes 57 countries where measles outbreaks have been reported.
Furthermore, after domestic travel to an area with an ongoing outbreak or international travel, watch for signs and symptoms of measles for three weeks after returning to the United States.
The positive news from the CDC is that 'The risk for widespread measles outbreaks in the United States remains low.'
Since the recent Sudan virus disease (SUDV) outbreak was declared in the Republic of Uganda in late January 2025, a total of 14 cases, including four related fatalities, a case fatality ratio of 29%, have been reported.
As of March 5, 2025, 192 new contacts have been identified and are under follow-up in Kampala, Ntoroko, and Wakiso.
SUDV was first identified in Sudan in June 1976. This is the eighth outbreak, five in Uganda and three in Sudan.
According to the WHO's Disease Outbreak News (558) published on March 8, 2025, the Ministry of Health (MOH) stated, 'the risk of potential serious public health impact is high.' The MoH has scaled up its case management strategy to ensure sufficient capacities to provide care for all suspected and confirmed cases in all hot spots
The WHO says SVDV is a severe disease belonging to the same family as Ebola virus disease (EVD).
While several promising candidate therapeutics are currently advancing through clinical development, no licensed treatment is yet available to effectively address potential future outbreaks of EVD caused by the Sudan virus species.
A range of candidate SUDV vaccines and therapeutics are under development.
Since 2020, one vaccine and two candidate therapeutics (a monoclonal antibody and an antiviral) have been recommended. They are available in Uganda and are being assessed through randomized clinical trial protocols.
Two vaccines licensed against Zaire EVD will not provide cross-protection against SUDV.
Currently, the WHO advises against travel and/or trade restrictions to Uganda.
However, the U.S. CDC has issued a Travel Health Advisory, Level 2, for Unganda in February 2025.
The CDC says visitors to Uganda should avoid contact with sick people who have symptoms, such as fever, muscle pain, and rash, or contact with blood and other body fluids and semen from men who have recovered from EVD until testing shows that the virus is no longer in the semen.
