Travel Vaccine Breaking News

The Republic of Senegal, which is the westernmost country in West Africa, is once again confronting a Rift Valley fever (RVF) outbreak. RVF is a mosquito-borne viral disease that primarily affects livestock but can infect humans.

As of mid-October 2025, Senegal's Ministry of Health confirmed the RVF outbreak, which is affecting Saint-Louis, Matam, and Louga regions, and now includes 20 related fatalities.

In an effort to learn this outbreak's source, the Institut Pasteur de Dakar sequenced nine RT-qPCR–positive samples. Five complete L/M/S genomes were recovered.

According to their research, phylogenetic analyses show all 2025 Senegal sequences belong to lineage H, clustering with earlier Senegalese isolates from Fatick (2020) and Matam (2022) (>99 % nt identity). This analysis confirms continued local persistence rather than new introduction.

The U.S. CDC issued a Level 1 Travel Health Notice on October 10, 2025, stating people can protect themselves from RVF by preventing mosquito bites, avoiding contact with cattle and livestock, and handling, eating, and drinking animal products safely.

Additionally, the CDC advises visitors to Senegal to monitor their health during and after travel for symptoms of RVF.

As of October 14, 2025, RVF vaccines are unavailable.

According to Spanish media, a man residing in the Community of Madrid is the first Mpox clade 1b case of autochthonous (local) infection of the most contagious strain of the sexually transmitted virus.

The Madrid Directorate General of Public Health announced in late September 2025 that the patient is in home isolation and is progressing favorably. His close contacts are being investigated to identify potential secondary cases.

As of early October 2025, all reported cases of this Mpox variant in Europe had been imported, primarily from African countries.

According to the latest epidemiological bulletin from the Carlos III Health Institute, since 2022, Spain has detected a total of 9,027 cases of Mpox, 487 of them this year.

The U.S. CDC states that Mpox is a vaccine-preventable disease, with various vaccines approved for human use and commercailly available at select pharmacies.

To inform Macao residents about the SAR Government's overall prevention and control strategy and specific implementation measures for Chikungunya and dengue fever as early as possible, the Health Bureau held a press conference today to introduce the current epidemic situation.

As of October 11, 2025, Director Luo Yilong stated in a media release that since the first imported case of Chikungunya in Macao at the end of July, Macao has recorded 32 cases, of which 24 were imported and eight were locally infected by mosquitoes carrying the virus.

Considering the situation in neighboring regions and the flow of people, the risk of importing Chikungunya into Macao continues to exist. However, at present, local cases are still sporadic, and no clusters have occurred.

Medical Director Zeng Tanfei and Attending Physician Tian Yakun introduced the treatment of patients with double fever at the Conde S. Januario Hospital. As of October 12, 2025, there were six patients currently receiving hospitalization for double fever at the Conde S. Januario Hospital, four of whom were diagnosed with Chikungunya and two with dengue fever, none of whom had serious complications.

Macao, an autonomous region on the south coast of China, advises that residents with questions can contact the Health Bureau's infectious disease hotline at 28700800.

Furthermore, the outbreak of Chikungunya in Guangdong Province, China, continues.

To enhance disease awareness in China, the first Chikungunya virus detection product was approved in October 2025 for marketing in the country. It can be used for the in vitro diagnosis of Chikungunya cases. 

As of October 13, 2025, the U.S. CDC includes this area of China in a Travel Health Notice and recommends vaccination for specific travelers ahead of departure. 

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) recently reported additional mosquito-transmitted Dengue Fever cases, one each in Miami-Dade and Brevard counties along the east coast.

In 2025, 47 cases of locally acquired Dengue have been reported in Brevard (31), Hillsborough, Miami-Dade (14), and Pasco counties.

In 2024, 91 locally acquired Dengue cases were reported from ten Florida counties (Miami-Dade (50). Most dengue cases are serotyped as DENV-3 and DENV-4.

Additionally, fifteen cases of Dengue were reported this week in persons who had traveled internationally. In 2025, 254 travel-associated dengue cases were reported, led by 167 people with Cuba-related visits.

To notify residents and visitors of this health risk, the DOH has announced that Alachua, Bay, Clay, Duval, Hillsborough, Lafayette, Leon, Palm Beach, Pasco, and Pinellas counties are currently under a mosquito-borne illness advisory.

And Brevard, Escambia, and Miami-Dade counties are presently under a mosquito-borne illness alert.

As of October 11, 2025, Dengue vaccines are unavailable in Florida, but are being tested on children in Puerto Rico.

The Mexican government recently published a report for Epidemiological Week 39 that included data on the northern spread of the New World Screwworm (NWS).

Historically found in South America, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, parasitic flies carrying the NMW virus, which usually infect cattle, have infected 55 people in Mexico in 2025.

Mexico stated on October 6, 2025, that infestations can be severe and lead to sepsis if untreated, but are not contagious. Flies carrying NWS lay eggs in animal and human wounds, causing larvae to feed on living flesh.

These infestations have been found close the the Mexico-United States border, in Nuevo Leon.

The U.S. CDC says once detected, healthcare providers should remove the NWS larvae from the affected site immediately.

Seperately, Reuters reported the NWS outbreak has rattled the livestock sector in Mexico and the United States since May 2025.

Mexico's agriculture ministry and sanitation agency, Senasica, recently confirmed that ivermectin must be administered 72 hours before the cattle movement, under the supervision of staff from the International Regional Organization for Animal and Plant Health.

Last summer, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented extensive plans to prevent the northern spread of NWS.

In October 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conditionally approved Dectomax-CA1 (doramectin injection) injectable solution for the prevention and treatment of NWS larval infestations, as well as the prevention of NWS reinfestation for 21 days.

Dectomax-CA1 is conditionally approved for use in cattle, not for human use.

Bavarian Nordic A/S recently reported topline results from a phase 2 clinical study of its MVA-BN® (JYNNEOS®) mpox/smallpox vaccine in children 2 to 11 years of age.

Topline results from the study, comprising 451 individuals evaluable for the primary endpoint, showed that the immune response in children (n=227) two weeks after the second vaccination with MVA-BN was non-inferior to the adult group (n=224), with the highest immune responses observed in the youngest subgroup of children aged 2-5 years.

While the safety and immunogenicity generated from this study in adults were comparable to historical data with MVA-BN, the immune response in children was 2.5 times higher than in the adult group, as demonstrated by neutralizing antibody titers.

The vaccine's safety profile is similar to that of adults and has no unexpected signals.

Nina Wressnigg, Head of Clinical Development Science at the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), commented in a press release on October 7, 2025, "Mpox has been raging across Africa for over a year and remains a declared continental health emergency."

"Although MVA-BN has been licensed for emergency use in children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - the worst-affected country - many other countries lack this access, causing children to continue to bear the brunt of the suffering, marked by severe illness and possible loss of life.

"These new topline data provide additional positive findings that could expand licensure to children in more countries to control the ongoing outbreak."

Pending final results from the study, Bavarian Nordic plans to submit the data to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in 2026 to support an extension of the vaccine's approval to include children aged 2 years and older.

The European Commission currently approves MVA-BN for individuals aged 12 years and older.

The findings could also expand the use of the vaccine to children in countries severely affected by the current mpox outbreak, surging in Africa, with cases also reported in other countries around the world.

MVA-BN or Modified Vaccinia Ankara-Bavarian Nordic is the only non-replicating mpox vaccine approved in the U.S., Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada (IMVAMUNE®), the EU/EAA, and the United Kingdom (IMVANEX®).

In the United States, JYNNEOS is commercailly available at clinics and pharmacies.

Recently, the Chicago Department of Public Health reported 104 cases of Mpox have been confirmed in 2025. This data is more cases than were reported over the same time period in 2023 (40) and 2024 (53) combined.

The study was co-funded by the CEPI and was conducted at sites in the DRC and Uganda.

The WHO's Disease Outbreak News, published in early October 2025, reconfirmed that Chikungunya virus disease is a global situation and has recently impacted the People's Republic of China.

In China, a total of 16,452 locally transmitted Chikungunya cases have been reported in Guangdong Province.

According to the WHO, this represents the largest documented Chikungunya outbreak to date in China.

The cases have been reported in 21 cities, primarily in Foshan City (10,032), Jiangmen City (5,209), Guangzhou City, Shenzhen City, Zhanjiang City, Zhuhai City, and Zhongshan City.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated a Level 2 Travel Health Notice regarding Guangdong Province, where mosquitoes spread the virus that causes Chikungunya.

The CDC advises visitors to this section of southeast China to protect themselves by preventing mosquito bites. Vaccination is recommended for travelers who are visiting an area with a chikungunya outbreak.

Additionally, the CDC says if you are pregnant, reconsider travel to the affected areas, particularly if you are close to delivering your baby. In general, vaccination against Chikungunya should be deferred until after delivery.

Regarding the duration of effectiveness of the new Chikungunya vaccines, Valneva SE, one of the producers, reported positive antibody persistence data four years after vaccination with a single dose of its Chikungunya vaccine IXCHIQ®. 

In the United States, Chikungunya vaccination services are commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.