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The Republic of Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) recently confirmed one imported case of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis in a five-month-old Indonesian who arrived in Singapore for medical treatment at the National University Hospital upon arrival.
According to the MOH's press release on February 7, 2025, the infant is immunocompromised and was previously vaccinated with one dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).
Vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis is a rare adverse event that occurs when an individual develops paralytic polio after receiving OPV. The risk is higher for immunocompromised persons, for whom IPV is recommended instead of OPV.
Many countries have progressively switched to offering IPV, and Singapore stopped using OPV in 2021.
Singapore, an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia, has not reported any locally acquired polio cases since 1978.
Singapore has maintained its polio-free status by providing high polio vaccination coverage, maintaining high environmental hygiene and sanitation standards, and establishing a surveillance system to detect possible poliomyelitis cases.
The MOH says vaccination is the most effective protection against poliomyelitis. Children receive five vaccine doses under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule.
As of February 10, 2025, the MOH says there is a low risk of community transmission.
A recent Eurosurveillance analysis stated, 'Until global eradication is achieved and as long as poliovirus is circulating anywhere, importations into Europe are inevitable.'
In January 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reissued a Global Polio Alert—Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions Travel Health Notice, identifying polio outbreaks and virus detections in 39 countries.
The CDC has recommended routine and travel vaccinations such as yellow fever and measles before visiting Singapore in 2025.
Cuba's Oropouche fever outbreak set new records in 2024 and started in 2025, heading to new highs.
On January 30, 2025, the PAHO reported Dr. José Raúl de Armas, head of the Department of Communicable Diseases at MINSAP, provided an update on the epidemiological situation in the country, which has reached 100% of Cuba's provinces.
To date, there have been 23,639 suspected cases and 626 confirmed cases. Among the latter were 76 patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, 25 with encephalitis, and 15 with meningoencephalitis.
Florida, Cuba's western neighbor, confirmed 103 travel-associated Oropouche fever cases in 2024.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Oropouche virus is spread primarily through the bites of infected small flies and mosquitoes. Symptoms typically start 3–10 days after being bitten and last 3–6 days. Most people recover without long-term effects. There is no specific treatment for Oropouche.
To alert international travelers of this health risk, the CDC issued Travel Health Advisories for various countries in the Region of the Americas. Furthermore, the CDC confirmed there are no Oropouche vaccines available in 2025.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated that 'seasonal influenza activity remains elevated and continues to increase across the country.'
As of February 7, 2025, the CDC disclosed an unfortunate trend; ten additional influenza-associated pediatric fatalities were reported last week, bringing this year's total to 57.
During the last flu season, the CDC reported 207 children died from influenza infections.
From a geographic perspective, the Walgreens Flu Index has identified its leading markets for influenza-related activity. As of February 1, 2025, the leading Designated Market Areas with flu activity were:
- Oklahoma City, Okla.
- Columbus-Tupelo-West Point-Houston, Miss.
- Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas
- Jackson, Miss.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Tulsa, Okla.
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Ft. Smith-Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark.
- Tyler-Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches), Texas
The CDC continues to encourage most people to get their annual flu shot at health clinics and pharmacies. The CDC stated that over 92 million flu shots had been distributed in the U.S., targeting the 2024-2025 flu season.
Note: The Walgreens Flu Index provides state—and market-specific information regarding flu activity. It is compiled using retail prescription data for antiviral medications used to treat influenza across Walgreens locations nationwide. The Flu Index is not intended to illustrate levels or severity of flu activity but rather to illustrate which populations are experiencing the highest incidence of flu.
Ireland's Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSE) recently detected one imported case of clade I mpox.
As of February 5, 2025, the individual was receiving specialist care in a hospital in Dublin.
The Irish resident had returned to Ireland following travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where both clades of mpox are circulating in the community.
HSE stated in a media release that 'the (clade I mpox) risk to the Irish public remains low.
Additionally, cases of clade IIb mpox in Ireland remain low, with 8 cases reported in 2025. There were 25 cases confirmed in 2024, 13 cases in 2023, and 227 cases in 2022.
To Irelands' east, the UK Health Security Agency recently confirmed England's 9th clade I case in various cities.
As of February 8, 2025, mpox vaccines are approved by various countries and are commercially available in the United States.
Following the record-setting 2024, Caribbean countries and territories have again confirmed Dengue cases. The Aedes aegypti mosquito, which thrives in rainy conditions and is found in the Caribbean, transmits the dengue virus from person to person, causing outbreaks.
For example, the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) Department of Health announced on February 5, 2025, that 15 Dengue cases have been reported in the Territory, all on the island of St. Croix.
As of October 2024, the number of Dengue cases in the USVI had surged, with 150 reported across the Territory last year.
Dr. Esther Ellis, Territorial Epidemiologist for the VI Department of Health, urges residents to take precautions to prevent further dengue transmission as the number of cases rises in St. Croix.
Dr. Ellis added that the numbers on St. Croix underestimate the actual dengue burden.
"I encourage residents to get tested for dengue if they have symptoms," she said.
Infants, pregnant women, and those with previous dengue infections are at higher risk for severe dengue. Some may develop severe dengue, which typically occurs 24 to 48 hours after the fever subsides and includes symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, vomiting, bleeding, or extreme fatigue. Seek emergency medical attention immediately if these symptoms arise, says the U.S. CDC.
While the CDC's latest Dengue Travel Health Advisory lists 12 countries in the Region of the Americas, it does not identify the USVI as an at-risk area.
As of February 8, 2025, the second-generation Dengue vaccine is not offered in the United States or Territories.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed the yellow fever (YF) virus has become endemic in tropical areas of the Region of the Americas, such as the Republic of Colombia.
While yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable disease, with ample supplies available in Colombia, significant outbreaks have been reported over the past 13 months.
The WHO reported on February 4, 2025, that between the start of 2024 and EW 4 of 2025, a total of 31 confirmed cases of YF have been reported, including 15 fatal cases.
Recent YF outbreaks have been detected in the department of Tolima in the municipalities of Cunday, Prado, and Purificación.
With over 6 million tourists visiting Colombia last year, most landing at the El Dorado International Airport, the WHO and U.S. CDC have offered updated vaccine recommendations.
Travelers ≥1 year old arriving from Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Uganda; this includes certain airport transits or layovers in any of these countries, must be vaccinated.
YF vaccination is generally not recommended for travel limited to Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, or Medellín cities, areas in Colombia above 7,550 ft. in elevation (where infected mosquitoes are not found), the archipelago departments of San Andrés and Providencia, or the city of Bogotá.
When departing from the United States in 2025, the YF-VAX® vaccine is commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.
From a safety perspective, the U.S. Department of State issued a high-level travel advisory for Colombia in January 2025, stating that visitors should exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and that some areas are at increased risk.
During the summer of 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued several epidemiological alerts about Oropouche cases, including deaths, in the Region of the Americas. This unfortunate trend has continued into 2025.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama recently published a Health Alert for U.S. Citizens living in or visiting the Republic of Panama.
As of February 7, 2025, the U.S. CDC has issued two Travel Health Notices (THN) regarding outbreaks of the Oropouche virus in Panama. Additionally, the CDC has raised the THN level for Panama's Darien province to Level 2.
Previous research estimates that up to 5 million people in the Americas are at risk of exposure to the virus.
Oropouche is a disease caused by the Oropouche virus, which is spread primarily through the bites of infected midges and mosquitoes. While the virus has been found in semen, it is unconfirmed whether It can be spread through sex.
Symptoms of Oropouche include headache, fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, nausea, vomiting, chills, or sensitivity to light. Severe cases may result in neuroinvasive diseases such as meningitis.
From a prevention perspective, the CDC says travelers to Panama should take steps to prevent bug bites. They should also prevent bug bites for three weeks after travel to avoid possibly spreading the virus to others if they are in areas where mosquitoes and biting midges are active.
Currently, there are no U.S. FDA-approved vaccines for Oropouche disease.
However, this area of Central America has been reporting chikungunya cases, and there is an approved vaccine commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in 2025.
After several months of being measles-free, Texas has reported eight measles cases in 2025.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recently reported that the measles outbreak in Gaines County, Texas, has expanded to six cases.
DHSH announced on February 5, 2025, that these measles cases are unvaccinated school-aged children in the South Plains Public Health District (SPPHD) who live in Gaines County, a rural area about 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, TX.
These new measles cases are unrelated to the alert issued by the Houston Health Department in January 2025. That alert confirmed two measles cases associated with international travel in unvaccinated Harris County residents.
Those were the first measles cases reported in Texas since 2023 and the first case reported by the SPPHD in about 20 years.
As of February 7, 2025, the U.S. CDC maintains a Global Measles Advisory that identified 59 countries reporting measles cases.
The CDC, DSHS, and Houston Health all recommend that international travelers be fully protected against the highly contagious measles virus. In 2025, the MMR vaccine will be generally offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.
Update: There are nine measles cases reported in Texas in 2025.
