Travel Vaccine Breaking News

Since the summer of 2025 has ended, and most children have returned to school, parents are asking when the best time is to get the annual flu shot. Since it takes a few days for influenza vaccines to take effect, timing is a crucial factor.

To help guide answers, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently published the results of tests performed by clinical laboratories nationwide.

Nationally, during Week 36, the percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for the influenza virus in clinical laboratories was 0.4%.

The CDC also confirmed that, based on NCHS mortality surveillance data available as of September 4, 2025, 0.06% of the deaths that occurred during the week ending Week 36 were attributed to influenza. 

Unfortunately, a total of 280 influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurred during the 2024-2025 season.

This data is the highest number of pediatric deaths reported in any non-pandemic influenza season since the condition became reportable in 2004.

To reduce these pediatric deaths, the CDC and most state health departments recommend that eligible children receive the flu shot beginning in September each year.

Additionally, adults and children should be protected when traveling to a country reporting influenza outbreaks, such as Australia. Influenza vaccination is recommended for all Australians aged 6 months and older for the 2025-2026 flu season.

As of September 15, 2025, most pharmacies in the USA offer vaccine appointments to streamline the flu shot programs.

Vaccination of frontline health workers and contacts of people infected with Ebola virus disease has begun in Bulape health zone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) 's Kasai Province, where an outbreak of the disease was declared.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated on September 14, 2025, that an initial 400 doses of the Ervebo® Ebola vaccine, prepositioned in the capital, Kinshasa, have been delivered to Bulape, one of the current hotspots of the DRC's 16th Zaire Ebolavirus outbreak.

Additional Ervebo doses will be delivered to the affected localities in the coming days.

In addition, treatment courses of the Ebanga™ monoclonal antibody therapy (Mab114) drug have also been sent to treatment centres in Bulape for clinical care.

In the outbreak area, WHO has so far deployed 48 experts in disease surveillance, clinical care, infection prevention and control, logistics, and community engagement.

In countries neighboring the DRC, the WHO is working with national authorities to bolster operational readiness, enabling the rapid detection of Ebola cases and the prompt initiation of measures to curb further spread of the lethal virus.

As of September 15, 2025, the WHO assesses the overall public health risk posed by the ongoing outbreak as high at the national level, moderate at the regional level, and low at the global level.

To alert international travelers, the U.S. CDC issued a Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Health Advisory regarding this Ebola outbreak. 

The CDC wrote on September 8, 2025: "While not commercially available, there is an FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of the Zaire Ebola virus." It is presently available to select individuals in specific occupations (e.g., outbreak responders).

For more information on vaccines, please consult with your healthcare provider to discuss eligibility and access to the Ebola vaccine.

According to recent data published by the Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS), Japan reported the most significant number of pertussis cases to date in 2025.

As of August 30, 2025, there have been a total of 72,448 pertussis cases reported in Japan this year.

Cases have been detected in all 47 Japanese prefectures, with Tokyo (5,846), Niigata (3,496), and Saitama (3,857) reporting the highest totals.

To help reduce these cases, the first round of pertussis routine immunization is administered three times for young children in Japan.

Furthermore, the JIHS recommends pre-arrival pertussis vaccination for individuals at risk, such as pregnant women and infants.

Unfortunately, the United States is confronting similar data.

Preliminary data show that more than six times as many cases were reported in 2024 compared to 2023.

However, the U.S. CDC reports that cases of pertussis have been trending downward since a peak in November 2024.

When planning a visit to Japan in 2025, the CDC advises travelers to be up to date with routine and travel vaccinations. This recommendation includes the Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis vaccine.

The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Negros Oriental recently announced an increase in the incidence of rabies in animals in the Republic of the Philippines this year.

Jaymar Vilos, PVO information officer, told the Philippine News Agency on September 11, 2025, that from January to August this year, 16 of 24 animal head samples received by the office tested positive for rabies.

According to Vilos, the PVO has not reported human fatalities caused by rabies this year.

Unlike previous years, these rabies cases involved dogs, not cats.

In 2024, the PVO recorded only 10 rabies-positive cases in animals, Vilos said.

"To stem the rising incidence of rabies in animals, we are urging the public to avail of free anti-rabies vaccination, which is offered by the provincial government year-round," Vilos said.

The PVO is also distributing these vaccines to local governments for deployment in their respective communities. Additionally, cat and dog owners are urged to have their pets vaccinated against rabies to prevent the further spread of the virus.

As of September 12, 2025, the U.S. CDC states that rabies vaccines are typically available throughout most of the Philippines for individuals who have been exposed to the virus while visiting the country. Over 5 million people visited the Philippines last year.

Additionally, a healthcare provider can help determine whether you should receive a pre-exposure vaccination before traveling abroad this year.

The CDC has recently included the Philippines in measles and dengue Travel Health Advisories. 

The Florida Department of Health (FDH) recently updated its Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Surveillance Report for 2025, revealing that both travel-related and locally transmitted diseases have been detected in various Florida counties.

Since late July 2025, the Florida Department of Health in Brevard County (DOH-Brevard) has informed residents of locally acquired dengue fever, transmitted to people by the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. 

As of September 6, nineteen cases have been confirmed in various cities, such as Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Melbourne.

DOH-Brevard says dengue can present as a flu-like illness, characterized by severe muscle aches and joint pain, fever, and sometimes a rash. Usually, there are no respiratory symptoms.

The positive news is that dengue fever is not contagious.

Statewide, FDH also confirmed last week travel-related chikungunya cases (3), dengue (189), and malaria cases (28), primarily in the Miami-Dade County area.

Additionally, three West Nile virus cases in people have been confirmed in Florida this year.

From a disease prevention perspective, chikungunya has the only U.S. FDA-approved vaccine available in the USA. Travel clinics and pharmacies commercially offer chikungunya vaccination services in 2025.

According to a recent Facebook post, a rabies alert has been announced for several areas in Bangkok (Krung Thep), the capital and most populous city of Thailand.

As of September 9, 2025, it is recommended that people avoid contact with stray animals and seek prompt medical attention if bitten or scratched. Rabies symptoms can take some time to develop, but when they do, the condition is almost always fatal.

The UK Travel Health Pro says pre-exposure vaccinations are recommended for travellers whose activities put them at increased risk.

A full course of vaccination simplifies and shortens the course of post-exposure treatment, removing the need for rabies immunoglobulin, which is in short supply worldwide.

The U.S. CDC also suggests various rabies vaccination recommendations. 

West African Ministers of Health today pledged their joint commitment to advance the development of, and readiness for, much-needed vaccines against Lassa fever.

First identified in 1969 in Nigeria, Lassa fever has a devastating impact on local populations.

Currently, there are no licensed vaccines to protect against Lassa fever.

As of September 8, 2025, these Ministers of Health are supported by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI).

IAVI has developed the most advanced Lassa fever vaccine candidate, funded by CEPI and the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership.

IAVI's promising vaccine candidate is currently being evaluated in a Phase IIa clinical trial in Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria, the most advanced study of a Lassa fever vaccine to date.

According to the WHO, Lassa fever, an acute viral illness, is endemic in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, but is likely also present in other West African countries.

The Lassa virus is primarily transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in healthcare settings that lack adequate infection prevention and control measures.

The overall case fatality rate is 1%, but the observed case fatality rate among patients hospitalized with severe Lassa fever is 15% or higher.

As of week #33 in 2025, there were no Lassa fever cases in the USA>