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The Republic of Costa Rica's tourism sector has started the 2026 winter vacation season on a positive note, with reports of strong international arrivals.
By early February 2026, Costa Rican tourism authorities had noted bustling activity at the country's main airports: Juan Santamaría International Airport in the Central Valley and Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport.
Like past seasons, snowbirds are attracted to Costa Rica's sunny beaches, volcanoes, rainforests, and eco-tourism options.
However, amidst this promising tourism rebound, health authorities have issued a warning regarding mosquito-borne diseases.
On January 29, 2026, the Ministry of Health confirmed a second case of Chikungunya in a resident of Esparza, Puntarenas province—the same canton where the first case was confirmed earlier in January.
Based on the onset of symptoms, the second patient may have been infected around the same time as the initial case.
Puntarenas is located in the western part of the country, covering most of Costa Rica's Pacific Ocean coast. And Esparza is situated between the mouths of the Río Barranca and the Río Jesús María rivers.
Vector control efforts in Esparza are ramping up, with teams having already fumigated 10,210 homes and buildings, applied insecticides using LECO sprayers and tractor-mounted foggers, and conducted thorough searches for individuals exhibiting fever symptoms.
These measures will continue over the next few weeks to prevent further spread of the virus.
Last year, eight cases of Chikungunya were reported, a marked improvement from 2024, when over 400 cases were reported.
The Ministry of Health has reminded the public that Chikungunya is transmitted by the same Aedes mosquitoes that spread Dengue and Zika.
Symptoms typically include fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash. While most cases are mild and resolve within weeks, joint pain can persist.
While no vaccines are required for entry into Costa Rica when traveling from the United States, chikungunya vaccines are available at travel vaccination clinics before departure abroad.
Travelers are advised to stay informed about health recommendations from the Ministry of Health, the U.S. CDC, or reliable sources such as vax-before-travel.com.
Chikungunya is a viral disease spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Since 2013, the virus has been detected in the Americas, and it has rapidly spread throughout Brazil.
Brazil has reported the highest number of chikungunya cases worldwide, including 246 related fatalities in 2024.
As of early February 2026, Brazil has reported 1,480 suspected and 180 confirmed cases of chikungunya.
In response to this serious public health issue, Brazil is taking additional measures to secure access to chikungunya vaccines.
Valneva SE today announced the launch of a Pilot Vaccination Strategy (PVS) in Brazil in collaboration with Instituto Butantan, one of the world's largest biomedical research centers. The companies initially signed a technology transfer agreement in January 2021.
This new PVS program will utilize Valneva's single-dose chikungunya vaccine, IXCHIQ®.
The goal of this program is to support post-marketing commitment studies that will assess the effectiveness and safety of IXCHIQ® in real-world conditions, providing valuable data from a large population.
Esper Kallas, M.D., Ph.D., The Director of the Instituto Butantan outlined the path toward the PVS program on February 3, 2026, stating: "With ongoing engagement from the Ministry of Health, regional health secretaries, and ANVISA, I am confident that we have established a program that is both robust and compliant with regulatory standards."
"These combined efforts are expected to ensure timely access to vaccination and alleviate the significant public health burden associated with this arboviral disease."
This initiative follows an announcement in January 2026 by Eurofarma. This Brazilian pharmaceutical company stated that it had acquired the rights to sell and distribute Bavarian Nordic's chikungunya vaccine, CHIKV VLP (VIMKUNYA®), in Brazil.
These actions in Brazil may help the state of Florida reduce the number of travel-related chikungunya cases. As of December 2025, 328 travel-related chikungunya cases have been confirmed, many in Miami-Dade County.
Furthermore, 14 cases of chikungunya fever were reported in 2026 among persons who had traveled internationally, with one local case in southeastern Florida.
The early weeks of 2026 have seen a significant decline in reported cholera cases compared to the same period last year, according to preliminary data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in its week #5 report.
The ECDC reported that from January 1 to January 27, 2026, a total of 1,203 cholera cases, including seven deaths, were reported across eight countries: Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, and Zambia.
Health authorities attribute the decline to a combination of seasonal factors, improved response efforts, and expanded interventions in high-risk areas.
This figure marks a significant decrease from the equivalent period in 2025, when 10,043 cases and 32 deaths were reported worldwide by January 27. The reduction aligns with broader trends observed in late 2025, when global cholera activity began to ease in some regions after peaks in previous years.
For context, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a cumulative total of approximately 614,828 cholera cases and 7,598 deaths from January 1 to December 28, 2025, across 33 countries in five WHO regions.
Vaccine availability is a critical concern in controlling disease outbreaks.
The global oral cholera vaccine (OCV) stockpile, managed by the International Coordinating Group (ICG) and partners such as UNICEF and WHO, has fluctuated in recent years as high demand has outstripped production.
As of early 2026, emergency stockpile reports indicate that over 20 million doses are available (including formulations such as OCV-S), with ongoing production increases aimed at meeting global needs.
WHO-prequalified OCVs, such as Vaxchora, are being deployed for reactive vaccination campaigns in affected areas.
The ECDC and the WHO say that international travelers to affected regions should consult healthcare providers and local travel vaccination experts about OCV options to prevent disease while abroad.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) announced yesterday that it is investigating a new confirmed case of measles in an individual who recently returned from international travel.
This case, the second reported in the county as of February 1, 2026, involves a traveler who was infectious while passing through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and visiting at least one other public location.
LACDPH officials are warning that anyone present in Terminal B from 10:45 p.m. on January 26 to 1 a.m. on January 27 may have been exposed to the highly contagious virus.
In collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local health departments are notifying passengers seated near the traveler on the international flight. An additional potential exposure site at Dunkin' Donuts, 22020 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364, on January 30, 2026, from 3 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
California has reported several cases so far in 2026, including this one in Los Angeles County and related exposures in neighboring Orange County, where the traveler also visited popular locations such as Disneyland.
"Measles is a serious respiratory disease that spreads easily through the air and on surfaces, particularly among people who are not already protected against it," said Muntu Davis, MD, MPH, Los Angeles County Health Officer, in a recent press release.
"A person can spread the illness to others before symptoms appear, and it can take 7 to 21 days for symptoms to show up after exposure. Measles can lead to severe disease in young children and vulnerable adults."
"As LA County residents begin to travel this summer, and with measles cases increasing among those who have traveled recently, we remind everyone that the best way to protect yourself and your family from infection is through the highly effective measles vaccine."
LACDPH says anyone who believes they may have been exposed should consult a healthcare provider promptly and inform them of their potential exposure before any in-person visit to avoid further spread in medical settings.
These LAX cases come amid a significant national rise in measles cases.
As of late January 2026, the CDC reported 588 confirmed cases in the United States, marking the highest January total since the country declared measles eliminated in 2000. Current outbreaks have been identified in South Carolina and Utah.
In 2025, the U.S. recorded 2,242 cases, one of the highest annual totals in decades.
As of February 2026, the CDC continues publishing a global measles outbreak Travel Health Notice, alerting international travelers to this health risk. To locate a travel vaccine clinic, visit Vax-Before-Travel.com.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the 2025-2026 influenza season as moderate severity across all age groups.
However, seasonal influenza activity remains elevated nationwide and increased last week after three weeks of decline.
And Influenza A activity has remained stable, while influenza B activity has increased.
As of January 30, 2026, the CDC's FluView reported #3 stated that at this point in the flu season, the pediatric age group is classified as having high severity, while both the adult and older adult age groups are classified as having moderate severity.
Furthermore, the CDC confirmed eight additional influenza-associated pediatric deaths this week, bringing the total for the 2025-2026 season to 52.
Among children who were eligible for influenza vaccination and with known vaccine status, approximately 90% of reported pediatric deaths this season have occurred in children who were not fully vaccinated against influenza.
The CDC and healthcare providers throughout the USA encourage all children to be protected from influenza by accessing flu shots when recommended.
