Vaccine News

In 2025, the State Institute of Public Health (SZÚ) reported a rise in cases of infectious jaundice across the Czech Republic (Czechia). By the end of April, 450 reported cases of viral hepatitis A had been reported.

Tragically, six patients had died due to hepatitis A, a vaccine-preventable disease.

Czech health officials informed the media on May 13, 2025, that the actual number of infections is likely much higher because it is difficult to track the spread of the virus, which causes liver inflammation that can be fatal in rare cases.

In comparison, the SZÚ recorded 636 cases and two related deaths in 2024.

This year, Hepatitis A affects regions across the Czech Republic. The regions of Central Bohemia – 87, Moravia-Silesia – 83, and Prague – 73 report the most cases. 

"In Prague, almost 1/3 of the disease is reported in homeless people," stated SZU.

In 2025, the spread of hepatitis A impacted other European countries, such as Slovakia, Hungary, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Effective Hepatitis A vaccines are available in the Czech Republic, as in the United States.

Basic protection is achieved after a single injection. A second dose is required to obtain long-term protection, which is given 6-18 months after the first dose.

In 1904, the Isthmus of Panama reported that tropical diseases such as malaria led to the death of an estimated 12,000 workers during the Panama Canal project.

Over 100 years later, the mosquito-transmitted malaria continues to impact the health of the Republic of Panama.

On May 9, 2025, Panama's Ministry of Health (Minsa) reported that two deaths from malaria had been recorded in 2025. The victims were from Eastern Panama in February and from Veraguas in March.

These are Panama's first malaria-related fatalities since 2017.

In 2024, a total of 15,109 cases were reported, and in 2023, 11,659 malaria cases were reported. This data represents a sustained increase in the transmission of this disease.

Minsa stated that this increase has been linked to increased human mobility toward areas of active transmission and the effects of climate variability and change, which can favor the proliferation of the transmitting mosquito and contact with vulnerable populations. It urges citizens to collaborate actively with prevention strategies and seek prompt medical attention if they experience symptoms consistent with malaria.

Throughout 2025, several countries in the Region of the Americas have reported malaria outbreaks.

As of May 13, 2025, the U.S. CDC Yellow Book recommends that travelers to certain areas of Panama take prescription medicine to prevent malaria. Depending on the medicine you take, you will need to start taking this medicine multiple days before your trip, as well as during and after your trip. Talk to a travel medicine professional about which malaria medication you should take.

Furthermore, while two malaria vaccines are being deployed in Africa, they have not been offered in the Americas.

Additionally, the CDC has included Panama in its Travel Health Advisories for Dengue and Oropouche outbreaks.

North Dakota Health and Human Services (HHS) reports two additional measles cases in Cass County, bringing the state’s total to 11 cases in 2025. Both individuals were unvaccinated and acquired measles through international travel.

HHS stated on May 11, 2025, that exposed vaccinated individuals don’t need to be quarantined.

However, individuals who have not received a dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine should be quarantined (stay home) and monitored for symptoms for 21 days. 

These are not related to recent cases in Williams County.

"Due to the current measles outbreak, please isolate at home if you have symptoms of runny nose, fever, cough, and rash,” said Dr. Beverly Tong, Upper Missouri District Health Unit deputy director, in a press release on May 6, 2025.

“Isolation should continue until at least four full days after the onset of a rash."

"Time from exposure to onset of rash is generally around seven to 21 days, and you can spread measles up to four days before the rash appears. Don't hesitate to contact your health care provider's office if you wish to be tested. They will instruct you on when and where to arrive at their clinic to minimize risk to others."

Because some new measles cases are not linked to earlier known exposures, there is concern about potential community transmission. As a precaution, HHS recommends that all residents and travelers to Williams County ensure they are vaccinated against measles. This includes considering early MMR vaccination for infants aged 6 through 11 months.

A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology has shown that the Babesia parasite has rapidly spread throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Researchers wrote that, to our knowledge, this is the first report of B. microti and B. burgdorferi-positive I. keiransi from Virginia and the first report of B. burgdorferi-positive I. keiransi from Delaware.

This poses a significant health risk to people in communities where the disease was previously considered rare. Humans enter the cycle when bitten by infected ticks.

According to the U.S. CDC, Babesiosis, caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells, can range from asymptomatic to severe illness, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.

The research published on April 22, 2025, highlights an increasing number of locally acquired human cases and the detection of Babesia microti, the primary causative agent of human babesiosis, in blacklegged and Ixodes keiransi ticks.

Little is known about the prevalence of Babesia worldwide, says the CDC, but little is known about its prevalence in malaria-endemic countries, where misidentification as Plasmodium probably occurs. In Europe, most reported cases are due to B. divergens and occur in splenectomized patients.

In the United States, B. microti is the agent most frequently identified (Northeast and Midwest) and can occur in nonsplenectomized individuals.

This study highlighted an unfortunate issue for healthcare providers.

Jurisdictions in the southern mid-Atlantic region should expect babesiosis cases, Lyme disease, and anaplasmosis coinfections during the summer of 2025, and healthcare providers should consider these tick-borne infections as part of the differential diagnosis.

As of May 11, 2025, no approved vaccines are available for these diseases. However, a Lyme disease vaccine has progressed in a phase 3 clinical study.

While most Mpox cases have been detected in Africa this year, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently reported several instances of both monkeypox virus clades.

On May 8, 2025, the UKHSA confirmed mpox clade Ib and clade IIb cases in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Up to the end of April 2025, 12 cases of mpox clade Ib have been reported in England this year. Most of these cases have reported direct or indirect links to travel to countries where mpox clade Ib is circulating, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

From 2023 to April 2025, 508 cases of mpox clade IIb have been reported in the UK.

Of these, 470 were in England (212 cases were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 155 were acquired outside the UK and 103 are awaiting classification), 19 were in Scotland (4 were supposed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 9 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and six are awaiting classification), 10 were in Wales (4 were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 2 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and four are awaiting classification), and nine were in Northern Ireland (5 were presumed to have acquired mpox in the UK, 3 were imported cases acquired outside the UK and one is awaiting classification).

The UKHSA wrote, 'despite continuing and regular imports of mpox clade IIb, case numbers during 2023 to 2025 likely remain substantially lower than those seen in 2022 due to high levels of vaccine protection suppressing transmission.'

Since June 2022, the UK government has endorsed a vaccination strategy intending to interrupt transmission of the mpox virus in the subset of individuals at increased risk of exposure.

As of May 11, 2025, Bavarian Nordic JYNNEOS® (MVA-BN®, IMVAMUNE®) is available in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Since the first anthrax fatality in decades was reported in the Kingdom of Thailand in early May 2025, substantial confusion regarding a potential outbreak has been reported on social media.

To clarify the situation as of May 8, 2025, Dr. Pricha Worahan, Public Health Doctor of Nakhon Phanom Province, revealed that the anthrax situation in Mukdahan Province has been continuously monitored.

As for the latest disease situation, there are no confirmed anthrax patients. Anthrax is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

There was one suspected anthrax patient found, a 55-year-old female farmer who denied any underlying diseases. She had a blister on her right arm that broke in the middle, making the wound black like a cigarette burn.

The doctor initially diagnosed anthrax as suspected, so he collected samples of the blister from her skin and Hemoculture to send to the laboratory of Nakhon Phanom Hospital and Bamrasnaradura Institute. No one with symptoms that fit the definition of searching for contacts of the disease was found.

However, two people who had contact with the infected person did not show any symptoms, and animals in the area did not show any abnormalities or die of unknown causes.

There are no reports of human-to-human transmission of the disease.

The most common vectors are cows, buffalo, goats, and sheep. Infected animals will have fever, be lethargic, not eat, get sick for no apparent reason, and die. Most people get infected by direct contact with infected animals, such as butchering meat, consuming raw or undercooked meat, or coming into contact with animal skins or fur that contain spores of the disease.

The germs contaminate the area where an animal is sick or dies and can remain there for months or years. Patients will have fever, body aches, cough, difficulty breathing, a blue face, and die from respiratory failure.

According to the U.S. CDC, anthrax is rare in the United States, but outbreaks do happen in wild and domestic grazing animals such as cattle or deer. In the U.S., veterinarians recommend yearly livestock vaccination in areas where animals have had anthrax. Additionally, anthrax vaccines for people are available in 2025.

Recently, South Korea approved BARYTHRAX, the world's first recombinant anthrax vaccine, jointly developed by GC Biopharma and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

BARYTHRAX utilizes protective antigen (PA) proteins produced through genetic recombination techniques. With an anthrax infection, PA is a gateway for 2 Bacillus anthracis toxins, lethal factor and edema factor, to enter host cells. BARYTHRAX vaccination can train and stimulate an immune response to neutralize anthrax by utilizing PA proteins.

With millions of people planning to visit the Republic of the Philippines during the summer of 2025, the United States government has recently updated various travel advisories.

On May 8, 2025, the Department of State reissued its Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution due to civil unrest in some areas of the Philippines. This advisory says do not travel to:

The Sulu Archipelago, including the southern Sulu Sea and Marawi City in Mindanao,

And reconsider visiting other areas of Mindanao this year.

Due to these risks, the State Department wrote that U.S. government employees working in the Philippines must obtain special authorization to travel to these areas.

If you visit the Philippines in 2025, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive digital alerts and help locate you in an emergency.

Last month, the U.S. Embassy Manila announced 'Beat the Summer Rush – Renew Your Passport Today.'

Appointments for routine consular services are currently available with little to no wait at the U.S. Embassy and the Consular Agency in Cebu.  As summer approaches, demand will rise, making it harder to schedule convenient times. Apply now to avoid the busy season!

From a health risk perspective, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has included the Philippines in two Travel Health Advisories in 2025.

The CDC's dengue advisory was issued in April, and a global measles advisory was issued in March.

While dengue vaccines are unavailable in the U.S., MMR vaccines are readily offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.

Furthermore, the CDC says international travelers should check the list of routine vaccines and medicines and visit a healthcare provider at least a month before departing abroad this summer.