Vaccine News

While Chikungunya and Dengue virus outbreaks reached records in the Region of the Americas in 2024, a little-known virus with similar symptoms has been spreading, causing complications in diagnosis.

Oropouche virus, primarily transmitted through bites from infected midges, has expanded its range over the past year, reaching Central America and the Caribbean.

Research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases in December 2024 estimates that up to 5 million people in the Americas are at risk of exposure to the virus.

To confuse a diagnosis, Oropouche infections can appear clinically similar to Chikungunya, Dengue, Malaria, and Zika. A reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction test is only administered after a negative dengue result.

Still, once confirmed, no treatment or preventive vaccine for Oropouche is available as of January 2025.

To alert international travelers to this health risk, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Advisory on December 18, 2024. The CDC lists nine countries that have reported Oropouche cases.

And in Brazil, the CDC issued a Level 2 Advisory for Espírito Santo.

In Florida, about 103 international travelers have been diagnosed with this infection.

Symptoms of Oropouche infection include headache, fever, muscle aches, stiff joints, nausea, vomiting, chills, or sensitivity to light. Severe cases may result in neuroinvasive diseases such as meningitis.

Furthermore, the CDC says the Oropouche virus has been found in semen and may spread through sex.

New South West (NSW) Health recently reminded international travelers and Australian residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites during the summer of 2025 following Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) detections.

In this year's first results, JEV was detected in mosquitoes in NSW's Moree area as of January 7, 2025. This area is located northwest of Sydney and west of Brisbane.

JEV was previously detected in mosquitoes in the Griffith area and feral pigs in the Narromine Shire local government area in December 2024.

NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection, Dr. Jeremy McAnulty, said in a media release, "Mosquitoes thrive in warm conditions, increasing the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, Ross River, and Barmah Forest viruses in parts of NSW."

“Each year from November to April, NSW Health undertakes surveillance across the state to provide important information about when mosquito-borne disease risk is elevated," Dr McAnulty added.

“These detections indicate the risk for mosquito-borne virus transmission is widespread, particularly in the 55 NSW local government areas at higher risk of JE in the inland regions."

“I encourage anyone planning to spend time outdoors in these higher-risk areas to take steps to protect against mosquito bites."

According to the World Health Organization, JEV is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in many Asian and Western Pacific Ocean countries. Twenty-four countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions have endemic JEV transmission, exposing more than 3 billion people to risks of infection.

The JE vaccine (JESPECT®) will be available in 2025 through local General Practitioners, Aboriginal health services, and pharmacists for people who live or regularly work in these areas. Information on eligibility for a free JE vaccine is available on the NSW Health website.

In the United States, Valneva SE's IXIARO® Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine is commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.

Most health experts agree that preventing vaccine-preventable diseases is key to international travel in 2025.

A new analysis by Harvard Medical School researchers demonstrates that travel clinics and pharmacies have successfully contributed to administering vaccines against pneumococcus and influenza.

This study was published yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases on January 8, 2025, and revealed that 19% of vaccine-eligible travelers either received a pneumococcal vaccine or were referred to another provider to receive it.

And 40% of travelers received the influenza vaccination at their pre-travel visit or were referred to another provider.

However, there were missed opportunities for vaccination.

Over a span of 10 years, 68% of eligible international travelers were not offered the pneumococcal vaccine, and 15% were not offered the flu vaccine, even if their travel destination was in the midst of a respiratory season outbreak.

These deficiencies could be related to the differences between the seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

These researchers' findings suggest that influenza vaccines are less likely to be offered to travelers during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere, even if they are available and the person is heading to a Southern destination.

Another potential barrier is a lack of insurance coverage for the administration of non-travel vaccines. To resolve this constraint, many pharmaceutical firms offer discount programs.

As of January 9, 2025, various routine and travel vaccines are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in the United States.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) today announced that the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an increase in respiratory viral infections this season in northern China, including human metapneumovirus (hMPV) infections, seasonal influenza, rhinovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus.

Since December 2024, human metapneumovirus has affected all age groups in China. According to the ECDC, it usually causes mild to moderate respiratory illness, but the infection can sometimes be severe in young children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals.

As of January 8, 2025, the ECDC 'considers that the current epidemiological situation in China reflects a seasonal rise in respiratory infections caused by common respiratory pathogens and does not pose any specific concern for the EU/EEA (Europe).

According to the WHO, countries including India and the United Kingdom have also reported seasonal rise in cases of hMPV. Based on the current risk assessment, WHO advises against travel or trade restrictions related to current trends in acute respiratory infections.

Currently, there is no vaccine for hMPV, but annual flu shots and RSV vaccines are available at most pharmacies in the U.S.

Micron Biomedical today announced the company secured a $7.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that brings total grant funding from the organization to $43 million.

As of January 7, 2025, the Gates grant will support Micron’s efforts in increasing access to a measles-rubella vaccine and activities to support a phase 2 clinical trial in infants.

Micron’s technology has been recognized for its potential to have a positive global impact and be game-changing in hard-to-reach settings, such as in Africa. Micron's “peel-and-stick” microarray technology is applied to the skin and allows for the self-administration of pharmaceuticals (vaccines) by pressing a button.

A study published in The Lancet on May 11, 2024, involving Micron’s needle-free microarray technology, was the first to demonstrate the safety, immunogenicity, and acceptability of a vaccine delivered to children via any needle-free microarray technology. The research involved the leading commercially available MR vaccine.

Micron Biomedical is a clinical-stage life science company on a rapid path to commercializing its proprietary dissolvable, microarray technology.

Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARB-X) today announced it awarded Clarametyx Biosciences $2.6 million to develop an anti-biofilm vaccine. 

Clarametyx's CMTX-301 is a pathogen-agnostic vaccine candidate designed to prevent bacterial biofilm formation and allow the body's immune response to clear infections without antibiotics.

Biofilms enable bacteria to infect medical devices and human tissues, shielding them from natural clearance mechanisms. Bacterial biofilms are increasingly recognized to be involved in clinical infections in many body systems, including the auditory, cardiovascular, digestive, integumentary, reproductive, respiratory, and urinary systems.

"CARB-X is proud to continue supporting Clarametyx Biosciences in work to combat biofilm-associated infections, a major challenge in the fight against antibiotic resistance," said Erin Duffy, PhD, R&D Chief of CARB-X, in a press release on January 7, 2025. 

"With their novel anti-biofilm vaccine, CMTX-301, Clarametyx is taking an innovative approach that could transform how we prevent and treat these difficult-to-address infections. We look forward to seeing the impact of this program as it advances through clinical development."

CARB-X provided an initial overview of Clarametyx's work on novel anti-biofilm technologies.

The Louisiana Department of Health today reported a patient who had been hospitalized with the first human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in Louisiana and the United States recently died.

Due to patient confidentiality and respect for the family, this will be the final update about the patient. 

The patient was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions. The patient contracted H5N1 after exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds.

This report was not a case of H5N1 person-to-person spreading.

LDH’s extensive public health investigation has identified no additional H5N1 cases nor evidence of person-to-person transmission. This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana.

HAPI avian influenza (bird flu) is widespread globally and has been causing outbreaks in wild birds, poultry, mammals, and dairy cows for a few years. There have been 67 confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the United States since 2022. 

As of January 7, 2025, the U.S. CDC says the current public health risk for H5N1 to the general public remains low. However, people who work with birds, poultry, or cows or have recreational exposure to them are at higher risk. 

Furthermore, the best way to protect yourself and your family from H5N1 is to avoid sources of exposure. That means avoiding direct contact with wild birds and other animals infected with or suspected to be infected with bird flu viruses. Do not touch sick or dead animals or their droppings or bring sick wild animals into your home.

While one avian influenza vaccine has been approved for human use (Audenz™) by the U.S. FDA, and several vaccine candidates are in the U.S. stockpile, they are not CDC-authorized for use, nor are they commercially available in the U.S.