Vaccine News

France's ARS Regional Health Agency continues to report chikungunya fever outbreaks in its Departments located east of Africa and Madagascar.

According to the information bulletin released by the Regional Health Agency on May 2, 2025, there have been 89 recorded cases in the Mayotte Department, a significant increase from 32 cases confirmed just two weeks ago.

Mayotte's outbreak breakdown includes 28 imported cases, 28 indigenous cases, and 33 cases currently under investigation. Additionally, two patients have been hospitalized.

The Regional Health Agency indicates that this health risk to the general population and any international visitors is high, and the outbreak could continue for weeks.

Since chikungunya is a vaccine-preventable disease, health authorities announced last week that adults aged 65 and younger will be included in the vaccination campaign in Mayotte.

A recent study found that a disease-blocking vaccine with 75% efficacy, if administered to 40% of individuals aged 12 years and older over three months, could have prevented approximately 34,200 chikungunya cases and 73 related fatalities.

In addition to chikungunya, Mayotte's cholera transmission are localized to Koungou, M'tsangamouji, and Mamoudzou. Mayotte increased its use of the cholera vaccine DUKORAL in the first quarter of 2025.

As of May 6, 2025, the U.S. CDC has not issued a Travel Health Advisory for visiting Mayotte.

While human-to-human transmission of avian influenza remains low, highly pathogenic strains such as H5N1 and H7N9 continue to pose serious global threats. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if H5N1 mutates to enable human-to-human transmission, it could trigger a deadly pandemic.

Various avian influenza vaccines have been developed, and new, innovative technologies are being tested to address this global threat.

SK bioscience today announced that it has been selected for the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA)- led initiative to develop vaccines against avian influenza, which has been identified as a high-risk candidate for the next pandemic.

Under the new program, SK bioscience and KDCA will co-invest approximately $3.7 million in early-stage development.

The company stated on May 6, 2025, that it will initiate development of a cell-culture-based avian influenza vaccine and aim to enter Phase 1/2 clinical trials in the second half of 2026.

The company says cell-culture-based vaccines offer greater effectiveness in pandemic response than traditional egg-based vaccines. Egg-based vaccines can face significant challenges during avian influenza outbreaks, as mass culling of poultry may limit access to uninfected fertilized eggs, making timely and large-scale vaccine production difficult and less responsive to emerging viral mutations.

In contrast, cell-culture-based vaccines are produced using animal cells in advanced aseptic facilities, minimizing the risk of contamination or infection. This method enables rapid, large-scale manufacturing and quicker adaptation to evolving virus strains.

SK bioscience has already utilized its cell-culture platform to develop vaccines against various viral diseases.

In the United States, various avian influenza vaccines have been supported by the U.S. FDA over the past few years.

As the summer vacation season 2025 gets underway, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cruise ship illness inspections are on pace to set new, unfortunate records.

As of May 5, 2025, the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program had reported 16 gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships this year, 14 of which were classified as norovirus.

This data compares with 18 GI outbreaks in all of 2024 and just 14 in 2023.

The CDC says traveling on cruise ships exposes people to new environments and thousands of other voyagers. Health risks come from contaminated food or water or, more commonly, through person-to-person contact and a lack of hand-washing.

The most recent report was from the cruise ship Eurodam. As of April 28, 2025, the final case counts were:

Number of passengers who reported being ill during the voyage: 148 of 2,038 (7.26%),

Number of crew who reported being ill during the journey: 22 of 830 (2.65%),

The predominant symptoms were diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps, and the causative agent was norovirus.

The CDC offers this quick tip to help about 20 million people vacationing on a North American cruise ship in 2025: To avoid getting sick, wash your hands often, especially after visiting a public bathroom and before/after eating a group-served meal.

With Disney soon to cruise to the western Caribbean from Galveston, Texas, more people should follow this CDC advice for the years ahead.

While norovirus vaccine candidates are being tested in clinical research to help prevent outbreaks, none are available in 2025.

The only protein-based, non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine produced in the United States will continue to be available in Japan, the world's third-largest pharmaceutical market.

Novavax, Inc., announced on May 5, 2025, that it has updated the terms of the previously announced collaboration and licensing agreement with Takeda, a pharmaceutical firm located in Osaka, Japan.

"Our ongoing partnership with Takeda is important for Novavax, and our strengthened agreement enhances our ability to operate effectively in the Japanese market," said John C. Jacobs, President and CEO of Novavax, in a press release.

"This partnership further validates our cutting-edge technology platform and proprietary Matrix-M® adjuvant and our efforts to become a partner of choice."

The improved financial terms of the amended agreement for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of Nuvaxovid® in Japan include an upfront payment, payment related to the 2024/2025 season, annual milestones associated with regulatory approvals, and royalties on net sales earned every season moving forward.

Since the World Health Organization granted an Emergency Use Listing for Novavax's earlier COVID-19 vaccine version in December 2021, numerous countries, including the United States, have authorized its use.

Novavax's vaccines are genetically engineered using three-dimensional nanostructures of recombinant proteins critical to disease pathogenesis.

The Republic of Indonesia's tourism sector experienced significant growth in 2024, with foreign tourist arrivals marking a 20% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

However, the U.S. Department of State recently issued a high-level advisory for international visitors to consider before visiting Indonesia.

On April 30, 2025, the State Department wrote that visitors should exercise increased caution in Indonesia due to civil unrest.

Especially when visiting Central Papua and Highland Papua.

The Level 4, Do Not Travel advisory says that in Central Papua and Highland Papua, violent demonstrations and conflict could result in injury to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. Due to the risks, the U.S. government cannot provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Central Papua and Highland Papua.

Seperately, the U.S. CDC includes Indonesia in recent measles and polio travel advisories.

Additionally, there has been recent evidence of the transmission of the chikungunya, dengue, and Japanese encephalitis viruses in Indonesia.

The CDC suggests that everyone visiting Indonesia be current with routine vaccinations and speak with a vaccine expert about which travel vaccine is best for their visit.

The Kingdom of Thailand has reported its first anthrax-related fatality since 1994, when a man in Mukdahan province died from the disease after being exposed to an infectious cow. All types of anthrax have the potential, if untreated, to spread throughout the body and cause severe illness and death.

According to the Health Ministry on May 2, 2025, they are tracking hundreds of people who may have been exposed to the bacteria. They found 247 people who were in contact with the disease, divided into 28 people who butchered the cattle and 219 people who consumed raw beef.

The Ministry has given medication to the high-risk contact group.

Located in Southeast Asia, Thailand is home to over 60 million people and is a vacationer's favorite destination in 2025.

Last week, the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed a human case in North Kivu Province.

Various types of anthrax are caused by a spore-forming bacterium called Bacillus anthracis. There are thought to be a few thousand human cases worldwide each year. 

In the United States, Healthcare providers rarely see a patient with anthrax, says the U.S. CDC. Access to anthrax vaccines, such as CYFENDUS™, is controlled by the government. 

As the 2024-2025 flu season comes to a close, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported some alarming news in their weekly FluView, Key Updates for Week 17.

Twelve additional children have died from influenza, bringing the total number of influenza-related pediatric fatalities to 216, which surpasses last season's total of 207.

In terms of the specific types of influenza, ten of the deceased children had influenza A, while two were affected by influenza B. Further analysis revealed that the H1N1 strain caused eight deaths, and four were attributed to the H3N2 strain.

Furthermore, the CDC has classified this flu season as a high-severity season overall and for all ages, the first high-severity season since 2017-2018.

And based on data from FluSurv-NET, the cumulative hospitalization rate for this season is the highest observed since the 2010-2011 season.

As of May 2, 2025, the CDC recommends that everyone ages six months and older get an annual flu vaccine as long as influenza viruses are circulating. This advice applies explicitly to those traveling to the Southern Hemishpere, where flu season is just beginning.

Various flu shots remain available at most pharmacies in the U.S.