Vaccine News

The Philippines's most populous city, Quezon City, has been a well-known hub for business activities and tourism as the city of stars in Asia. Unfortunately, it has become a hot spot for the mosquito-transmitted Dengue virus in 2025.

From January to March 9, 2025, the City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division of Quezon City recorded 3,608 Dengue cases and 12 related fatalities, a significant (300%) increase from 2024.

Overall, Quezon City has about 3 million residents and is 12 miles northeast of the capital city of Manila. Most of the Dengue cases have been reported in District #2 this year.

Previously, the City's Health Department declared a Dengue outbreak.

“Our declaration of a dengue outbreak ensures that we are on top of the situation, and we are doing everything we can to protect our residents from this deadly disease, especially our children,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a February 27, 2025, press release.

Recently, the Global Dengue Travel Health Advisory, updated by the U.S. CDC, highlighted the Philippines, saying that this disease is a year-round risk in many parts of the world, including the United States.

As of March 2025, there have been 893 Dengue cases reported in 23 U.S. jurisdictions this year, led by Florida.

While Dengue vaccines are no longer available in the U.S., the CDC recommends discussing immunization options with a travel vaccine expert.

Before visiting the Philippines, the CDC also suggests that future travelers discuss chikungunya, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria prevention options. And under International Health Regulations, proof of vaccination against yellow fever is required for certain travelers arriving from countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission in 2025.

Since the recent Sudan virus disease (SUDV) outbreak was declared in the Republic of Uganda in late January 2025, a total of 14 cases, including four related fatalities, a case fatality ratio of 29%, have been reported.

As of March 5, 2025, 192 new contacts have been identified and are under follow-up in Kampala, Ntoroko, and Wakiso.

SUDV was first identified in Sudan in June 1976. This is the eighth outbreak, five in Uganda and three in Sudan.

According to the WHO's Disease Outbreak News (558) published on March 8, 2025, the Ministry of Health (MOH) stated, 'the risk of potential serious public health impact is high.' The MoH has scaled up its case management strategy to ensure sufficient capacities to provide care for all suspected and confirmed cases in all hot spots

The WHO says SVDV is a severe disease belonging to the same family as Ebola virus disease (EVD).

While several promising candidate therapeutics are currently advancing through clinical development, no licensed treatment is yet available to effectively address potential future outbreaks of EVD caused by the Sudan virus species.

A range of candidate SUDV vaccines and therapeutics are under development.

Since 2020, one vaccine and two candidate therapeutics (a monoclonal antibody and an antiviral) have been recommended. They are available in Uganda and are being assessed through randomized clinical trial protocols.

Two vaccines licensed against Zaire EVD will not provide cross-protection against SUDV.

Currently, the WHO advises against travel and/or trade restrictions to Uganda.

However, the U.S. CDC has issued a Travel Health Advisory, Level 2, for Unganda in February 2025. 

The CDC says visitors to Uganda should avoid contact with sick people who have symptoms, such as fever, muscle pain, and rash, or contact with blood and other body fluids and semen from men who have recovered from EVD until testing shows that the virus is no longer in the semen.

While most of the media attention has been on west Texas's South Plains area's ongoing measles outbreak, just a few miles to the east, New Mexico is also reporting unsettling news.

On March 6, 2025, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) confirmed that an unvaccinated resident of Lea County tested positive for measles and later died. NMDOH Scientific Laboratory has confirmed the presence of the measles virus.

The official cause of death is still under investigation by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. One in five cases requires hospitalization, and approximately three in every 1,000 cases result in death.

This new measles case brings the total number of cases to 10, all residents of Lea County. Seven cases were unvaccinated, while the remaining three had unknown vaccination histories. 

As of March 5, 2025, the U.S. CDC reported 164 measles cases in nine jurisdictions this year.

Globally, about 57 countries are reporting measles outbreaks.

"We don't want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles," said Dr. Chad Smelser, NMDOH Deputy State Epidemiologist, in a press release. "The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease"

The NMDOH wrote that measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can cause severe complications. Vaccination is the best prevention method.

With ongoing exposures in Lea County, NMDOH urges residents to vaccinate with MMR to protect themselves and their families. NMDOH has scheduled free measles vaccination clinics to support community protection on March 11, 2025.

More information is available on the NMDOH website at http://measles.doh.nm.gov.

Two governments recently confirmed that visiting the Republic of Singapore in 2025 can be safe, with no infectious disease outbreaks.

According to the United Kingdom and the U.S. Department of State, while no international travel can be guaranteed safe, Singapore has the lowest level of advisories.

As of March 6, 2025, the State Department's Level 1 Travel Advisory says visitors should exercise normal precautions when visiting Singapore, an island state at the southern end of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia.

Last year, the U.S. Embassy in Singapore confirmed that a new version of the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program became active and recommended that visitors enroll to revive digital alerts. 

With about 5 million residents, the "Garden City" has one of the highest standards of living in the world, with very good healthcare services.

Visitors in Singapore could face mosquito-transmitted health risks, including Zika, dengue, and chikungunya.

In Singapore, the first outbreak of chikungunya fever was reported in January 2008 in Little India, where Aedes aegypti was the vector implicated in transmission. In 2024, there were 14 locally acquired chikungunya cases in Singapore.

The last confirmation of a Zika virus outbreak was in 2019; individual cases have been reported in 2025.

While there is no risk of yellow fever, a certificate is required when arriving at the local airport for most travelers from countries with risk for the virus transmission.

The U.K. and U.S. agencies recommend updating visitors with routine and travel vaccinations and boosters at least one month before arrival in Singapore. 

With about 13 million visitors expected this year, Singapore has become a vacationer's safe haven in 2025.

Following the declaration of the Sudan Ebolavirus (SVD) outbreak in late January 2025, the Republic of Unganda's Ministry of Health recently reported an additional positive case in Mulago hospital who passed away on February 25, 2025.

As of early March 2025, there have been ten confirmed cases, including two related fatalities. Out of the ten confirmed SVD cases, five are health workers, and four are family members of the index case.

Additionally, nearly 300 close contacts were identified.

The World Health Organization recently wrote, 'The confirmation of a new SVD case in Kampala highlights the risk of undetected transmission, particularly given the delayed diagnosis and the child's movement across multiple healthcare facilities.'

The United Nations in Uganda has also launched an appeal to raise funds for the comprehensive three-month (March- May) response plan, seeking $11.2 million.

Future interventions will focus on seven very high-risk districts, with potential expansion to other districts based on the needs and resources in alignment with the national response plan.

"The goal is to rapidly contain the outbreak and address its impact on public health as well as associated social-economic life of affected people, in full solidarity with the Government and people of Uganda," said WHO Representative Dr. Kasonde Mwinga in a press release on March 3, 2025.

Uganda has experienced five previous SVD outbreaks.

Additionally, traveler screening at 13 Ugandan entry points remains active, with 25,364 travelers screened as of March 2, 2025. Ugandan passengers are also subject to virus screening when arriving in the United States.

Currently, there are approved vaccines and therapies for Zaire Ebolavirus but not for Sudan.

However, over 2,000 doses of IAVI's rVSV Sudan ebolavirus vaccine candidate (IAVI C108, rVSVΔG-SUDV-GP) were shipped to Uganda in early 2025. Theuse of these vaccines is being evaluated in a clinical trial.

In addition to an Ebola Travel Health Advisory, the U.S. CDC has issued polio and mpox alerts focused on Uganda in 2025. The CDC says that approved vaccines are available at travel clinics and pharmacies to prevent these diseases.

The British Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Bahamas is just a quick 620-mile flight from the United States. It offers warm Caribbean waters and a safe vaccination.

The country's tourism authority, Experience Turks and Caicos, recently confirmed that about two million travelers visited the islands in 2024, setting a new record.

According to the U.S. Department of State's updated Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution for the Turks and Caicos Islands, the U.S. Embassy in Nassau provides consular services for U.S. citizens.

The U.S. Embassy consular personnel will visit Providenciales, Turks, and the Caicos Islands from March 5 to March 7, 2025, to provide routine U.S. passport and citizenship services.

On March 4, 2025, the State Department wrote that vacationers should avoid Providenciales, as that was where most of the crime occurred. Providenciales is the third largest island in the Turks and Caicos, home to most of the population.

Furthermore, the Provo area has resorts and hotels that line the island's beautiful coastline.

From a health-risk perspective, Turks and Caicos has avoided most mosquito-transmitted disease outbreaks except for Dengue. In 2024, 117 cases were reported.

The UK Travel Health Pro writes that a dengue vaccine is licensed in the UK to prevent dengue disease in individuals from 4 years of age. However, there are no certificate requirements under the International Health Regulations.

The U.S. CDC does suggest various travel and routine vaccinations before traveling to the islands. These vaccines are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

While no area within the United States has officially been declared endemic of Dengue, Florida's Health Department has continued to report both locally acquired and travel-related cases in 2025.

As of March 4, 2025, Florida's latest Arbovirus Surveillance update disclosed thirty-two cases of dengue reported among persons who had traveled internationally. These cases are in Lake, Collier, Hillsborough (2), Marion, Miami-Dade (19), Okeechobee (3), Orange (2), Palm Beach (2), and St. Lucie counties.

As of December 2024, 999 travel-associated dengue cases had been reported, mainly among Brazil, Cuba (567), and Puerto Rico visitors.

In 2024, 91 locally acquired dengue cases were reported from ten counties, such as Miami-Dade (50), Hillsborough (Tampa), Manatee, Monroe, Orange, Pasco (13), and Broward.

Most of these dengue cases are serotyped as DENV-3 and 4.

As of 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canada, and the United Kingdom have not issued travel alerts or vaccination requirements for visiting Florida. However, Miami-Dade County is currently under a mosquito-borne illness alert.

These agencies do recommend avoiding mosquito bites while visiting Florida, as Dengue vaccines are unavailable in the U.S.