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Coconino County Health and Human Services officials recently confirmed a resident died from pneumonic plague, a severe lung infection caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium.
As of July 11, 2025, this is the first recorded death from Pneumonic plague in Coconino County since 2007, when an individual had an interaction with a dead animal infected with the disease.
The new death is not related to a recent report of a prairie dog die-off in the Townsend Winona area, northeast of Flagstaff, Arizona.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the deceased,” said Coconino County Board of Supervisors Chair Patrice Horstman in a press release.
“Out of respect for the family, no additional information about the death will be released.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of seven human plague cases are reported each year in the United States. The last urban plague epidemic in the United States occurred in Los Angeles from 1924 through 1925.
The CDC states that the risk to the local public from exposure to plague remains low.
More recent plague epidemics have occurred in Africa, Asia, and South America.
The bacterium that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, can be transmitted to humans from the bite of an infected flea or through contact with an infected animal. According to health officials, the risk of human-to-human transmission is very low. The last reported occurrence of human-to-human transmission in the U.S. was reported in 1924.
Without a vaccine to prevent plauge epidemics, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) continues to fund development efforts.
Dynavax Technologies Corporation confirmed in February 2025 that it continues developing a plague vaccine candidate (rF1V) with the CpG 1018® adjuvant in collaboration with, and fully funded by, the DoD.
Dynavax and the DoD executed a new agreement for approximately $30 million through the first half of 2027 to support additional clinical and manufacturing activities, including a Phase 2 clinical trial expected to initiate in the third quarter of 2025.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published the 55th situation report for the multi-country outbreak of mpox virus (MPXV), which provides details on the global epidemiological situation for mpox, including an update in Africa.
All clades of MPXV continue to circulate in several countries.
On July 11, 2025, the WHO stated that only Türkiye has reported the detection of a new MPXV sub-clade since report #54, in a traveler from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
In Africa, community transmission of clade Ib MPXV remains limited to 19 countries. Most countries with previous sporadic importations are currently not reporting active transmission of clade Ib MPXV.
As of July 8, 2025, the countries of Burundi, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia are experiencing sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus.
Clade IIb MPXV continues to be reported in West Africa, while Central African countries report both clade Ia and clade Ib MPXV, and East African countries report clade Ib MPXV.
The WHO noted that, despite progress in response activities implemented through collaboration among governments, international partners, and communities, significant funding gaps are threatening the deployment of vaccines.
Approximately 724,000 MVA-BN (JYNNEOS) vaccine doses had been administered in 7 countries, out of the 1.9 million vaccine doses allocated to 13 countries, partly due to funding requirements for shipping to the countries.
Additionally, the DRC had received 1.55 million doses of the LC16m8 vaccine from a bilateral agreement.
In the United States, the JYNNEOS vaccine has become readily available at travel clinics and pharmacies and is recommended for specific international travelers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed that the spread of the poliovirus remained a global Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
To address the under-vaccinated population, two announcements indicate a path to reduce the detections of poliovirus and minimize the number of polio outbreaks.
On July 10, 2025, PharmaJet® announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the integration of needle-free delivery of inactivated polio vaccine into Egypt’s routine immunization program. The agreement includes provisions for distribution, technology transfer, manufacturing, and the development of new pharmaceutical products, as well as collaboration to increase needle-free access within Egypt and the region.
Seperately, the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has provided UNICEF with $5 million for a renewed partnership to eradicate polio and strengthen routine immunization across all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. This 12-month initiative aims to reach over 13 million children with lifesaving polio vaccines, supporting both routine vaccination and national polio campaigns.
Previously, to alert international travelers of the expanded health risk in 41 countries, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reissued a Global Polio Alert—Level 2, Travel Health Notice on June 16, 2025, regarding polio outbreaks and poliovirus detections.
As of July 12, 2025, the CDC recommends that travelers complete their routine polio vaccination series. Some people may also need a booster dose before visiting areas with outbreaks, such as Afghanistan and Germany.
In the United States, polio vaccines are available at travel clinics and pharmacies.
The southernmost territory of the United States, situated southwest of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, has declared a health emergency related to a surge of dengue fever cases.
As of July 7, 2025, the American Samoa Department of Health issued a travel alert following the confirmation of four imported cases of dengue fever and two locally-acquired cases. The local population is urged to protect themselves from mosquito bites, which are the source of this serious disease.
The government stated that these dengue cases are related to travelers to and from Samoa, a neighboring island.
According to the Samoa Bureau of Statistics, American Samoa welcomed over 200,000 visitors in 2024.
Over the last two years, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported an increasing number of dengue cases in territories.
The CDC says the dengue virus is endemic and has caused outbreaks in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
Except for Puerto Rico, dengue vaccines are not available in the continental U.S. or its territories as of 2025.
Within the U.S., the state of Florida reports the majority of dengue cases.
When most vacationers book their summer vacation in countries in the Southern Hemisphere, they should consider how to protect themselves from influenza. Currently, the World Health Organization (Influenza Update N° 534) is advising everyone in the 'south' to speak with a healthcare provider about immunization options.
As of July 2025, influenza positivity was elevated in countries of Tropical and Temperate South America, Southern and Eastern Africa, and South-East Asia.
The risk of exposure to the influenza virus during travel depends on the time of year and destination. In temperate regions, such as Brazil, influenza epidemics are more common from April to September in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the Northern Hemisphere, specifically in the United States, the previous flu season was notably severe, marking the worst in 15 years.
To help protect international travelers and others, CSL Seqirus recently announced that the company started shipping its differentiated portfolio of flu vaccines for the 2025-2026 season in the United States.
"During this past flu season, doctors' offices, emergency departments and hospitals across the country were filled with patients affected by the flu," said Gregg Sylvester, Chief Health Officer, CSL Seqirus, in a press release on July 10, 1025.
"We experienced the impact flu can have on our communities, our healthcare systems, and in our own homes. To make sure this doesn't happen again, vaccination is the first and most important action to help prevent flu and its potentially serious consequences."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is recommended that all eligible individuals aged six months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine, especially those at an increased risk of severe influenza-related complications, such as older adults, pregnant individuals, and children under five years old.
Flu shots and other travel vaccines are offered at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published updated clinical guidance for treating four arboviral diseases: chikungunya, dengue, Zika, and yellow fever.
As of July 4, 2025, this WHO resource is the first that covers all four diseases.
Arbovirus infections have become a growing public health threat, affecting 5.6 billion people.
These diseases are expanding into new regions, where virus-carrying mosquitoes are seldom found, increasing the likelihood of outbreaks beyond tropical and subtropical areas.
The WHO stated that an integrated approach is vital, as these four diseases often present with similar symptoms, especially in the early stages of infection, and multiple arboviruses may circulate simultaneously in certain regions. This makes clinical differentiation particularly challenging, especially when diagnostic testing is not readily available.
These diseases often affect international travelers who lack natural immunity and have not received appropriate immunization with travel vaccines.
Global risk maps are a crucial tool for evaluating the worldwide threat posed by mosquito- and tick-transmitted arboviral diseases.
The multi-year, global outbreak of pertussis (Whooping cough) cases has continued through the first half of 2025.
In Japan, pertussis has been a category V notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases Control Law since January 2018. As of July 10, 2025, the Japan Institute for Health Security Infectious Disease Information website reveals that 39,672 pertussis cases were reported in 2025.
This total surpasses the amount recorded in 2019, 16,845, and the 4,096 pertussis cases reported in 2024.
According to the U.S. CDC, pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection marked by severe coughing fits. It can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalopathy, and poses a potentially fatal risk to infants and other vulnerable individuals, such as pregnant women.
Since pertussis remains one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide, the CDC recommends that international travelers ensure they are immunized before visiting Japan in 2025.
The French Republic has been confronted with significant chikungunya outbreaks in various Departments in 2025.
As of July 9, 2025, Sante Publique France reported a total of 25 locally acquired cases of chikungunya in the mainland since May 2025.
Mosquito-transmitted cases have been reported from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA) (14), Corsica (3), Occitanie (2), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (4), Grand Est (1), and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (1).
Located at the far southeastern point of the mainland, PACA's largest city is Marseille, France's third-largest city, with over 800,000 residents, and a tourist favorite destination.
In addition to local cases, France has reported 761 imported cases of chikungunya in the last few months.
Many of these cases are related to international travel to France's Department of Reunion and Mayotte in the southwest Indian Ocean.
In France, as well as in the United States, chikungunya vaccines are commercially offered. Various governments have approved these vaccines and provide a high degree of protection against this mosquito-transmitted disease.
The U.S. CDC recommends vaccination before visiting areas with chikungunya outbreaks, such as the southern regions of France.
