Vaccine News

When the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reissued a Global Polio Alert on April 22, 2025, it identified 38 countries, indicating that the spread of poliovirus remains a public health emergency.

But the CDC did not mention Israel, but did include its neighbor, Gaza.

According to the Ministry of Health's Central Virus Laboratory, on April 24, 2025, poliovirus was detected in environmental samples in central Israel and the Jerusalem area, which has about 1 million residents. 

However, as of April 27, 2025, Israel's ministry had not reported any recent polio cases.

In March 2023, several children were confirmed with polio in Israel.

Over the past years, Israel has offered polio vaccination services throughout the country. But, as of March 2025, the administration of the live attenuated polio vaccine (oral) has been discontinued. 

In its place, the inactivated polio vaccine is now offered. This is the same polio vaccine provided in the United States.

Most African countries have switched to the nOPV2 polio vaccine over the past three years.

The CDC recommends that before travel to any listed destination, adults who previously completed the routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine, which will extend their protection from this severe disease.

The Republic of Uganda today announced the end of the current Sudan Ebolavirus disease (SVD) outbreak, less than three months after the virus was confirmed in the capital Kampala. 

This strain of Ebolaviris often causes a severe, fatal illness in infected people.

As of April 26, 2025, during this outbreak, 14 SVD cases, including 12 confirmed and two probable cases, had been reported.

And four deaths, two confirmed and two probable, occurred.

"This outbreak challenged us in new ways. It touched both urban and rural communities across the country and unfolded against the backdrop of significant global funding constraints," said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa, in a press release on April 26, 2025.

"The response demonstrated Uganda's long-standing leadership in tackling public health emergencies. As WHO, we are extremely proud to have supported these efforts every step of the way."

Despite the absence of licensed countermeasures against this species of Ebolavirus, Sudan candidate vaccines are in various phases of clinical trials. Within four days of the government's declaration of the outbreak, a randomized clinical trial for vaccine safety and efficacy using the ring vaccination approach was launched.

In addition, the administration of Remdesivir treatment under the Monitored Emergency Use of Unregistered and Experimental Interventions protocol was initiated.

As of today, various Sudan vaccine candidates are being tested in clinical research,

Previously, Zaire Ebolavirus vaccines and therapeutics had been approved for use in Africa,

In addition to Eboa, Uganda is experiencing polio and mpox outbreaks in 2026. Vaccines for these diseases are commercially available in the U.S.

Since Chikungunya was listed as a notifiable infectious disease by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (TCDC) in October 2007, a few travel-related and locally acquired cases have been reported most years.

As of April 25, 2025, the TCDC reports 11 Chikungunya cases this year, indicating a potential increase over last year's total of 20 cases.

And may approach 2019's record when 116 total cases were confirmed.

Previously, to identify infectious travelers, fever screening was conducted at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

The TCDC states that Chikungunya fever is rarely fatal; however, some patients may experience severe joint pain for several weeks, months, or even years. 

In the Asia Region, Chikungunya outbreaks have been recorded as early as 1824 in India.

As of April 25, 2025, the World Health Organization reports that Chikungunya transmission has occurred in approximately 110 countries, many of which are in the Americas, including Argentina and Brazil.

From a health perspective, this mosquito-transmitted disease can be prevented with U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines, which are commercially available at travel clinics and pharmacies in the United States.

Merck today announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, which included a significant decrease in sales of its cancer prevention human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines.

On April 24, 2025, Merck reported that GARDASIL/GARDASIL 9 vaccine sales declined 41% to $1.3 billion in 2025.

This decline is primarily due to lower demand in China, partially offset by higher demand in most international regions, particularly in Japan, as well as higher pricing and demand in the U.S.'

'Excluding China, sales grew 14%, or 16% excluding the impact of foreign exchange.'

Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck, commented in a press release, “We are working with focus and urgency to both realize the full potential of our near-term opportunities and to rapidly progress the next wave of innovation that will positively impact the lives of patients and drive future value creation for all of our stakeholders.”

The GARDASIL-9 vaccine remains the leading HPV vaccine in the United States, recommended by the U.S. CDC, and offered at most pharmacies.

Belize's Ministry of Health & Wellness recently announced the confirmation of locally transmitted malaria cases in Santa Elena Town and Cristo Rey Village, located in the Cayo District.

The initial case was detected on January 17, with additional instances detected on March 11 and April 5, 2025. Of the four confirmed cases in 2025, three are attributed to local transmission, and one is classified as imported from Guatemala.

Enhanced surveillance has been activated along the Western border, particularly in the Santa Elena neighborhoods of Santa Cruz and Hillview, as well as Cristo Rey Village.

As of April 23, 2025, these malaria cases mark the first instances of local transmission in over six years. However, other Central American countries have also reported outbreaks of malaria.

While this development is of concern, Belize remains committed to maintaining its malaria-free status, which was first achieved in June 2023.

The Ministry says malaria is a febrile disease caused by parasites, transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Infected individuals typically experience episodes of fever with chills and sweating every 48 to 72 hours. 

The Ministry is actively testing individuals who currently have, or recently had, a fever within the past 30 days.

While malaria cases may continue in April, vaccines are not yet offered in the Region of the Americas.

When the World Health Organization announced polio outbreaks remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for an additional three months, other health agencies reacted with more detailed disclosures focused on outbreaks.

For example, on April 22, 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reissued a Global Polio Alert—Level 2 advisory regarding polio outbreaks and poliovirus detections in 38 countries.

And the updated European CDC dashboard revealed that vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected in wastewater systems of 14 cities across five European countries in 2025.

In the Pacific Ocean area, a cVDPV2 environmental sample has been reported from Lae City, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. Located north of Australia, this country previously confirmed that poliovirus was circulating in 2018.

Both the CDC and ECDC recommend that adults who have previously completed the routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine before traveling to any destination listed.

In the United States, the IPV polio vaccine is available for purchase at most pharmacies.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) recently reported that one Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) positive environmental sample was collected in March 2025 from Lae City, Morobe Province, the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

As of April 22, 2025, GPEI reported that no associated cases of paralysis have been detected. 

Nevertheless, PNG health authorities in the country are treating this event as high risk and have officially notified the World Health Organization (WHO) through the International Health Regulations, implementing measures to address the situation.

In April 2025, the WHO announced that the spread of the poliovirus remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The WHO states that cVDPV2 poses a public health threat, affecting 27 countries across four regions.

PNG is classified as a developing nation, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia, with a land border with Indonesia. The Indonesian government reported a polio outbreak in Aceh province, linked to cVDPV2 in 2022.

Papua New Guinea previously confirmed that poliovirus was circulating in 2018.

To alert international travelers, the U.S. CDC reissued a Global Polio Alert—Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions Travel Health Notice on April 22, 2025, regarding polio outbreaks and poliovirus detections in 38 countries, including Indonesia, but not PNG.

The CDC recommends that travelers to these areas be fully vaccinated against this severe disease.