Vaccine News

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>

While the global measles outbreak has been recorded in numerious cities, in the United Kingdom, London has reported the most cases this year.

Since January 2025, the UKHSA has reported a total of 742 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in England, with 50% of these cases occurring in the London region.

This data is concerning since London welcomes over 20 million international travellers each year.

Since May 2025, the U.S. CDC's Level 1 Travel Health Advisory has confirmed that measles remains an ongoing risk worldwide, with an increasing number of international travelers contracting the disease. Travelers can catch measles in various travel settings, including travel hubs such as airports and train stations, on public transportation like airplanes and trains, at tourist attractions, and at significant, crowded events.

Infected travelers can bring the disease back to their home communities.

The CDC recommends that all international travelers be fully vaccinated against measles with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, in accordance with the CDC's measles vaccination recommendations for international travel.

The National Department of Health (NDoH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, has confirmed the first human case of paralytic poliomyelitis (cVDPV2) in Papua New Guinea in 2025.

The case involves a 4-year-old unvaccinated boy from Lae, Morobe Province, who developed acute flaccid paralysis (AFP).

This marks a pivotal moment in the country's polio response, confirming that the virus has transitioned from being detected in the environment to directly impacting children.

A total of 28 positive samples were reported this year.

"Polio is preventable. The vaccines are safe, effective, and free," said Dr. Sevil Huseynova, WHO Representative in PNG, in a media statement on August 28, 2025.

"But we must act together—with urgency and unity. WHO stands ready to support every province, every health worker, and every community."

To combat the spread, Papua New Guinea launched a nationwide Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) in August 2025, targeting children under 10 years with the novel oral polio vaccine (nOPV2).

The campaign has been extended to September 5 to help provinces reach the critical 95% coverage target. As of August 26, national coverage stands at 41.2%, with Hela Province leading at 91%.

A second round of SIA is scheduled from September 29 to October 17, which will include both nOPV2 and Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) to provide stronger and longer-lasting protection.

Over 9 million doses of nOPV2 and 4 million doses of IPV have been secured, along with additional stocks of measles-rubella, pentavalent vaccines, Vitamin A, and deworming tablets.

According to the U.S. CDC, travelers to Papua New Guinea are at increased risk of exposure to poliovirus and should be protected with the IPV. The CDC suggests IPV booster doses for some travelers.

According to the French Polynesian health ministry, a chikungunya virus epidemic is currently underway in the French overseas departments of Réunion and Mayotte.

As of September 7, 2025, the ministry's website states that anyone who has visited Réunion or Mayotte in the three weeks preceding their arrival in French Polynesia is likely to have introduced the virus into the country.

Consequently, visitors are encouraged to report to the country's health authorities upon arrival in French Polynesia.

These travelers can identify themselves by completing an online form for health authorities, accessible at this link.

French Polynesia comprises 121 islands and atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, including vacation favorites such as Tahiti and Bora Bora.

Additionally, several countries were recently included in a Level 2 Travel Health Advisory.

Furthermore, the southern coast of France has become a hotspot for locally acquired chikungunya.

This disease, transmitted by virus-carrying mosquitoes, causes fever and pain that can develop into arthritis and sometimes become severe in individuals with certain underlying health conditions. Additionally, there are specific health risks for pregnant women and infants.

From a disease prevention perspective, chikungunya vaccines have been approved over the past two years. They are commercially available at travel clinics and pharmacies in the USA, throughout Europe, and the United Kingdom.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) recently confirmed that 300,000 people have become eligible for a shingles vaccination.

BMJ says shingles is caused when the varicella zoster virus, which reactivates, often decades after initial infection.

NHS England has announced that from September 1, 2025, immunosuppressed adults aged 18 to 49 will be newly eligible to receive the vaccine, marketed as Shingrix®.

The vaccine is currently available to people aged 65 to 79 and severely immunosuppressed people aged over 50. This group includes people with conditions such as leukaemia or lymphoma, or those who are undergoing chemotherapy.

The rollout to all severely immunosuppressed adults follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which found that the risk of hospitalisation from shingles or those resulting in post-herpetic neuralgia was similar in younger immunosuppressed age groups to those who were already eligible.

Dr Amanda Doyle, National Director for Primary Care and Community Services at NHS England, commented in a press release, "Shingles can be seriously debilitating for older people and those with a severely weakened immune system, so following the latest expert guidance, the NHS is now expanding the potentially lifesaving jab to all severely immunosuppressed adults."

"The vaccine is safe and effective and significantly reduces the chance of developing shingles and becoming seriously unwell, so I'd urge anyone newly eligible to come forward for their protection as soon as possible.

As of September 6, 2025, in the United States, this shingles vaccine is generally available at retail pharmacies.