Vaccine News

Since the clade II mpox outbreak began about three years ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued Travel Health Advisories based on the type of virus. 

Historically, clade I have been associated with a higher percentage of people with mpox developing severe illness or dying, compared to clade II.

On February 10, 2025, the CDC reissued a Level 2 Practice Enhanced Precautions advisory regarding the clade I mpox outbreaks in eight Central and Eastern African countries.

The CDC wrote, 'There is an ongoing person-to-person transmission of mpox in Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia.'

In the United States, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services reported the third clade 1b case in the past four months. This mpox patient recently traveled to Eastern Africa.

During these mpox outbreaks, person-to-person transmission has occurred through various means, including sexual contact, day-to-day household contact, and within the healthcare setting. Transmission has also occurred from contact with certain live or dead wild animals.

Mpox is a disease caused by infection with the Monkeypox virus. Symptoms often include fever, rash, headache, muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes, although fever is not always present. 

The CDC says If you are sick and could have mpox, follow isolation and infection control measures at home and during travel. 

Mpox vaccination is recommended by the CDC for certain people visiting at-risk areas.

In the U.S. and many countries, mpox vaccines (JYNNEOS®, MVA-BN®) are commercially available in 2025.

France is one of the most popular tourist destinations, reaching about 100 million guests annually. Its overseas department, La Réunion, welcomes about 500,000 vacationers to its beautiful mountains and beaches.

However, due to the increase in the number of Chikungunya virus cases and its continued infections, and on the proposal of the Director General of the ARS Gérard COTELLON, Patrice LATRON, France's Prefect of La Réunion, has triggered level 3 of the ORSEC "arboviruses" system, which corresponds to a low-intensity epidemic.

As of February 11, 2025, and since August 23, 2024, ARS Reunion has confirmed 783 indigenous cases, including 671 since the start of 2025.

The municipalities of Étang-Salé and Le Tampon still have the highest number of Chikungunya cases. 

'As soon as a case of Chikungunya is reported, the ARS intervenes in the affected area, without waiting for confirmation of the case by the medical biology laboratory, to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.'

The last major Chikungunya outbreak in La Réunion was from 2005 to 2006.

The ongoing outbreak in La Réunion is caused by Ae. albopictus, the primary vector, due to the adaptation of the ECSA CHIKV genotype.

While the U.S. CDC has yet to highlight La Reunion's Chikungunya outbreak as a travel risk, it says international travelers should arrange an appointment with a travel vaccine specialist at least four to six weeks before departing for France. An appointment with a travel expert provides an opportunity to assess which vaccines are appropriate for your trip abroad in 2025.

When departing for France or La Reunion from the United States, Valneva SE's IXCHIQ® chikungunya vaccine is commercially offered by various travel clinics and pharmacies. And in 2025, this innovative vaccine can be found throughout Europe.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent update, the gastrointestinal illness outbreak on the Royal Caribbean International ship Radiance of the Seas affected 7.4% of its passengers.

Additionally, the crew who reported being ill during the voyage was 8 of 910 (0.9%).

As of February 10, 2025, the writes that it's not clear what caused the outbreak, but said symptoms of infected passengers included vomiting and diarrhea.

The Voyage (20136) was between February 1, 2025, and February 8, 2025.

Per CDC protocol, the Vessel Sanitation Program remotely monitored the onboard situation, including reviewing the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures.

This new incident is the 8th in 2025.

The CDC confirmed that 2024 was the worst year for gastrointestinal illness outbreaks (18) on cruise ships in over a decade. Norovirus was the most common cause.

'Norovirus is often a cause of GI illness outbreaks on cruise ships, but we don't always know the cause of the outbreak when we begin an investigation.' writes the CDC.

The CDC says there are no U.S. FDA-approved norovirus vaccines available in 2025.

Cuba's Oropouche fever outbreak set new records in 2024 and started in 2025, heading to new highs.

On January 30, 2025, the PAHO reported Dr. José Raúl de Armas, head of the Department of Communicable Diseases at MINSAP, provided an update on the epidemiological situation in the country, which has reached 100% of Cuba's provinces.

To date, there have been 23,639 suspected cases and 626 confirmed cases. Among the latter were 76 patients with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, 25 with encephalitis, and 15 with meningoencephalitis.

Florida, Cuba's western neighbor, confirmed 103 travel-associated Oropouche fever cases in 2024.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Oropouche virus is spread primarily through the bites of infected small flies and mosquitoes. Symptoms typically start 3–10 days after being bitten and last 3–6 days. Most people recover without long-term effects. There is no specific treatment for Oropouche.

To alert international travelers of this health risk, the CDC issued Travel Health Advisories for various countries in the Region of the Americas. Furthermore, the CDC confirmed there are no Oropouche vaccines available in 2025.

Ireland's Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HSE) recently detected one imported case of clade I mpox. 

As of February 5, 2025, the individual was receiving specialist care in a hospital in Dublin.

The Irish resident had returned to Ireland following travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where both clades of mpox are circulating in the community.

HSE stated in a media release that 'the (clade I mpox) risk to the Irish public remains low.

Additionally, cases of clade IIb mpox in Ireland remain low, with 8 cases reported in 2025. There were 25 cases confirmed in 2024, 13 cases in 2023, and 227 cases in 2022.

To Irelands' east, the UK Health Security Agency recently confirmed England's 9th clade I case in various cities.

As of February 8, 2025, mpox vaccines are approved by various countries and are commercially available in the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently confirmed the yellow fever (YF) virus has become endemic in tropical areas of the Region of the Americas, such as the Republic of Colombia.

While yellow fever is a vaccine-preventable disease, with ample supplies available in Colombia, significant outbreaks have been reported over the past 13 months.

The WHO reported on February 4, 2025, that between the start of 2024 and EW 4 of 2025, a total of 31 confirmed cases of YF have been reported, including 15 fatal cases.

Recent YF outbreaks have been detected in the department of Tolima in the municipalities of Cunday, Prado, and Purificación.

With over 6 million tourists visiting Colombia last year, most landing at the El Dorado International Airport, the WHO and U.S. CDC have offered updated vaccine recommendations.

Travelers ≥1 year old arriving from Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Uganda; this includes certain airport transits or layovers in any of these countries, must be vaccinated.

YF vaccination is generally not recommended for travel limited to Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, or Medellín cities, areas in Colombia above 7,550 ft. in elevation (where infected mosquitoes are not found), the archipelago departments of San Andrés and Providencia, or the city of Bogotá.

When departing from the United States in 2025, the  YF-VAX® vaccine is commercially offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.

From a safety perspective, the U.S. Department of State issued a high-level travel advisory for Colombia in January 2025, stating that visitors should exercise increased caution due to civil unrest and that some areas are at increased risk.

After several months of being measles-free, Texas has reported eight measles cases in 2025.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recently reported that the measles outbreak in Gaines County, Texas, has expanded to six cases.

DHSH announced on February 5, 2025, that these measles cases are unvaccinated school-aged children in the South Plains Public Health District (SPPHD) who live in Gaines County, a rural area about 90 miles southwest of Lubbock, TX.

These new measles cases are unrelated to the alert issued by the Houston Health Department in January 2025. That alert confirmed two measles cases associated with international travel in unvaccinated Harris County residents.

Those were the first measles cases reported in Texas since 2023 and the first case reported by the SPPHD in about 20 years.

As of February 7, 2025, the U.S. CDC maintains a Global Measles Advisory that identified 59 countries reporting measles cases.

The CDC, DSHS, and Houston Health all recommend that international travelers be fully protected against the highly contagious measles virus. In 2025, the MMR vaccine will be generally offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.

Update: There are nine measles cases reported in Texas in 2025.