1. Three doses help—but immunosuppressed patients remain a COVID-19 high-risk group Summary: In a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis, Stadler and colleagues searched PubMed, Scopus, and Embase...

Ebola disease (Bundibugyo virus) — Democratic Republic of the Congo: As of September 19, the DRC had reported 7,672 confirmed cases and 3,699 deaths; 58 cases and 23 deaths were newly reported in the preceding...

The most revealing feature of vaccine licensure in 2026 is not a newly targeted pathogen. It is the concentration of innovation around familiar respiratory threats: seasonal influenza and COVID-19. Four...

As of September 15, 2026, the largest acute international outbreak is Bundibugyo Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which continues to expand rapidly. Other active priorities...

1. More potential rabies exposures, more PEP errors: CDC health alert Summary: The CDC issued a Health Alert Network advisory on September 10, 2026, following increased reports of human exposure to rabid or...

For decades, seasonal influenza vaccines were produced primarily in embryonated eggs. Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), administered intranasally, became available in 2003. Over the past decade...

1. Firearms remain America’s defining youth mortality crisis Summary: In this correspondence responding to a 2026 research letter, Bleyer, Liu, and Thomas analyzed 2024 CDC WONDER mortality data for U.S...

Period covered: September 1–8, 2026. The most consequential event remains the rapidly expanding Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); other priority signals are ongoing mpox...

Autumn’s first cool mornings and increasingly early grape harvests in Central Europe serve as a brief, memorable clinical cue: review immunization records before the respiratory season and before 2026 travel...

1. GBS vaccine candidate clears a first key hurdle in HIV-endemic Africa A Ugandan phase 2 trial shows a hexavalent GBS6 vaccine candidate is safe and equally immunogenic in pregnant women with and without...

Why is there a medical need The outbreak that began in mid-May 2026 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with cross-border spread to Uganda, is caused by Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV) — a species...

For three decades, the story of Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) has been held up as one of modern vaccinology’s cleanest victories. A bacterium that once filled pediatric wards with meningitis and...

Global outbreak status Cholera — multi-country. Cholera remains active globally and has worsened in the latest WHO update: 29,610 cholera/acute watery diarrhea cases and 271 deaths were reported from 16...

1. Vaccine research boomed with COVID — but it’s still a one-country show Summary: This systematic mapping and scientometric analysis (PRISMA 2020) searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies...

The most consequential active outbreak is the Bundibugyo virus Ebola disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while major ongoing risks also include mpox, cholera, meningitis-belt epidemics, vector-borne...

1. Dengue antibodies play both hero and villain — and severity may tip the scales Vietnamese pediatric data show that the same antibody surge protecting children from repeat dengue may also be quietly loading...

The pneumococcus: A condensed overview Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram-positive diplococcus whose polysaccharide capsule — detectable via the Quellung reaction — is both its main virulence factor and the...

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) seldom makes headlines. The 2026 Asia-Pacific season deserves a closer look anyway. Several countries in APAC are experiencing unusually high activity, with a mix of...

This is a global outbreak update based on the most recent accessible agency material as of August 11, 2026. PAHO issued a measles alert on August 7. China CDC and India’s National Centre for Disease Control...

1. When strep throat explains MS – vaccination to prevent EBV-complications? Summary: This Viewpoint proposes that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) drives multiple sclerosis (MS) through a mechanism analogous to group...

Two distinct scientific traditions drive contemporary longevity research, and understanding their relationship matters for practicing physicians who counsel patients about healthy aging. The first tradition is...

Europe (ECDC) ECDC’s current major outbreak focus is Ebola virus disease caused by the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. ECDC states that, as of 9 July 2026, the outbreak is...

1. Nosocomial “SFTS” cluster shows Dabie bandavirus can spread hospital-to-hospital-bed—no ticks required, and one case had no direct contact at all. Summary: This multidisciplinary investigation...

Pandemics are not random catastrophes—they are recurring biological events shaped by predictable patterns of viral evolution, ecological disruption, the number of humans on Earth, and human behavior...

Europe West Nile virus in Europe: ECDC’s seasonal surveillance shows West Nile transmission is underway, with 81 locally acquired human cases across six countries and 35 affected areas reported as of 22 July...

We share this planet with more microorganisms than we can meaningfully picture—and understanding just how small a fraction of them threatens us reframes how we think about vaccines, exposure, and immunity. A...

1. Two months earlier beats twice as fast: modeling shows South Korea’s vaccine timing, not speed, saved the most lives Summary: This scenario-based modeling study used an age-structured compartmental...

My colleague pointed me to a modeling study by Cracknell et al. that I had not seen before my ViVa 29 publication on dengue vaccines and the discontinuation of the Butantan-DV program in Brazil. Summary...

Summary This retrospective, population-based cohort study emulated six target trials using German statutory health insurance (BARMER) claims data (2013–2019) to assess whether pneumococcal (PV) or influenza...

1. Old epilepsy drug repurposed as a low-cost metabolic vaccine booster increases T-cell responses 10-fold in a human trial Summary: A multiomic screen matched T-cell memory transcriptional signatures against...

Background: recent event Brazil’s Ministry of Health has temporarily suspended the Butantan dengue vaccine (Butantan‑DV) as a precaution after a small number of serious suspected adverse events, including two...

Summary Two Lancet Microbe papers together present and contextualize a controlled human infection model for Bordetella pertussis in healthy adults. The primary study showed that outpatient intranasal challenge...

Summary This GSK-sponsored retrospective cohort study used US Merative MarketScan claims data (2015–2022) covering over 20.6 million adults to compare herpes zoster (HZ) incidence rates in immunocompetent...

Summary Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a fatal, progressive neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system caused by persistent, mutated measles virus that remains dormant in brain...

Summary This open-label, first-in-human phase 1 dose-escalation trial evaluated the DNA vaccine pEVAC-PS, a computationally designed pan-sarbecovirus candidate delivered intradermally by needle-free PharmaJet...

Summary In a NEJM Perspective, Victor Dzau and Laura DeStefano of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) describe two public–private collaborations aimed at improving reliable health information on major...

Summary This global economic modeling study evaluated 50 years (1974–2024) of the WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) across 194 WHO member states and 14 pathogens, using a societal-perspective cost...

Summary This retrospective single-center study (Guangyuan, China, September 2024–March 2025) linked clinical and BALF targeted-NGS pathogen data in 97 adults hospitalized with influenza-associated CAP. There...

Summary A multiomic screen matched T-cell memory transcriptional signatures against >30,000 drug perturbation profiles, identifying lysine deacetylase inhibitors (KDACi) as candidate immunometabolic...

New Zealand — HPV schedule change takes effect From 27 July 2026, New Zealand’s school-based HPV program will shift to a single dose of Gardasil 9 with parental consent; dose 2 will still be free but...

Geneva/New York, July 15, 2026 — Global childhood immunization coverage edged higher in 2025, but progress remains fragile and uneven, with 13.5 million children receiving zero vaccine doses and measles...

Summary This prospective case-control study enrolled 258 febrile inpatients and 48 controls at a rural Tanzanian hospital over one year (2023-2024), testing blood by PCR for 35 pathogens, culture, and serology...

Why We Need a Universal Influenza Vaccine Every year, millions of people roll up their sleeves for a flu shot, and every year, that same shot needs reformulating. This isn’t bureaucratic inefficiency —...

Shigella vaccine breakthrough The live-attenuated oral Shigella sonnei vaccine WRSs2 reported 89% efficacy against shigellosis in a phase 2 controlled human infection trial — the highest protection rate ever...

Summary This narrative review updates the 2021 Global Roadmap for tuberculosis (TB) vaccine research and development, assessing progress across three themes (pipeline diversification, preclinical/clinical...

1. Five years after the global TB vaccine roadmap launched, progress is real but painfully thin This narrative review updates the 2021 Global Roadmap for tuberculosis (TB) vaccine research and development...

Ebola virus disease (Bundibugyo, DRC) The Ebola outbreak due to the Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to expand and is currently the most significant acute hemorrhagic fever...

India — CDSCO digital submission mandate (effective 1 July) From 1 July 2026, India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) requires that all Post-Approval Change applications for human...

Marburg virus – Kyegegwa district, Uganda Uganda reported a confirmed Marburg virus disease case in the western Kyegegwa district, detected through enhanced surveillance related to the concurrent Bundibugyo...

Long COVID: an update for your medical practice Long COVID is best conceptualized as one or several post‑infectious syndromes: a disease with a known trigger (SARS‑CoV‑2 infection) that develops in only a...

Pregnancy is still a paradigmatic “stress test” for host defense against infection, but the picture has broadened considerably since the 2014 Kourtis review. The core message remains that pregnancy does not...

The UK Health Security Agency leaflet is a concise, well‑written guide to meningococcal group B (MenB) vaccination for teenagers and young adults in the UK. It explains in plain language why MenB matters, who...

1. JN.1 booster shows surprising reach: cross-hits BA.3.2.2 and keeps a monoclonal option alive In this short immunogenicity study, 25 adults receiving a monovalent JN.1 mRNA vaccine provided serum before and...

Combination and multivalent vaccines have always been the backbone of vaccination programs. An interim high appeared in the mid-1990ies when 6-valent DTaP combination vaccines were developed (DTaP-Hib-IPV...

1. Avian influenza reaches European dairy herds – silent spread in cattle demands integrated surveillance A farm-based investigation in the Netherlands screened milk and serum from 72 lactating cows and 38...

Over the last week (≈23–29 June 2026), only a few jurisdictions and agencies released materially new vaccine guidance, with meaningful activity centered on COVID‑19 adult booster policy (Canada, Australia, New...

Your one-stop source on tick-borne encephalitis With the 9th edition of our TBE Book, we are, once again, bringing together what has become the key reference on tick-borne encephalitis across EurAsia. Over the...

The 2026 Bundibugyo ebolavirus outbreak in eastern DR Congo and Uganda has triggered an unprecedented acceleration of vaccine development for a strain that, until now, had no candidates even in Phase 1 trials...

1. New handbook urges scholars to defend evidence, not just ideas Public health science under pressure: New handbook maps risks for researchers Democratic backsliding now affects many countries, prompting an...

ASIA & OCEANIA India — Pulse Polio Immunization Day announced for 28 June 2026. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has mobilized for a nationwide Pulse Polio (National Immunization Day) on 28...

=1. Mpox joins the mRNA club: BioNTech’s first in-human BNT166a data hint at broad orthopox potential—but neutralizing titers fade fast In this phase 1, first-in-human, open-label dose escalation study...

Over roughly the last week (≈8–15 June 2026), the most concrete vaccine developments have been: (1) further consolidation of adult pneumococcal and RSV strategies in Australia, (2) new Canadian COVID-19...

Extreme case report: more than 200 vaccine doses in 29 months A 62-year-old man from Magdeburg, Germany, received 217 COVID-19 vaccine doses over 29 months, with at least 134 doses documented in official...

For decades, the United States was the archetypal “vaccine nation” – a country that combined scientific innovation, regulatory strength, and broad uptake to drive vaccine‑preventable diseases to historic lows...

Asia (including Southeast Asia, China, and India) India – CDSCO/SEC pauses Bharat Biotech MTBVAC Phase III authorisation (6 June 2026) India’s Subject Expert Committee identified data gaps and a serious...

1. RSV-B fights back: French surveillance flags notable nirsevimab escape, stressing need for smarter long-term RSV strategies This multicenter prospective cohort (POLYRES) from 32 French hospitals (Sept...

One of the questions that has driven Global Health Press for years is surprisingly simple: Why do vaccination systems produce different outcomes, even when countries often share similar goals? To help answer...

The rapidly escalating Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is more than a regional health emergency. It is another stress test of whether the world has genuinely...

When vaccination is discussed, the focus is usually on vaccines, coverage rates, disease outbreaks, or vaccine hesitancy. Yet one of the most important drivers of vaccination success often remains invisible:...

1. Ocular Lyme Diseases This retrospective case series synthesizes 27 published reports of ocular Lyme disease between 1988 and 2025, detailing 38 patients with diverse eye manifestations. Uveitis accounted...

Asia (Southeast Asia, China, India) India — UIP performance and adult immunization push Routine childhood coverage in India remains high, with ≥96% of children 12–23 months having received at least one...

Trust is more than a public-health issue Vaccination is often evaluated through statistics such as coverage rates, disease reduction, or vaccine availability. Yet behind these numbers lies another factor that...

Download Infographic Overview The infographic explains Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) as a severe zoonotic infection with high fatality rates and major long-term health complications. It describes how Ebola...

DNA origami takes aim at the post-LNP future — and the early results are striking For more than three years, lipid nanoparticles have been the dominant story in vaccine delivery science. They rescued the mRNA...

1. Ad26 vaccine vector immunity: much noise, little signal — and that’s good news In this industry-sponsored pooled analysis by van Rosmalen and colleagues (Johnson & Johnson, Leiden/Beerse), the...

While the Hantavirus outbreak seems under control, the Ebola crisis in Africa is more difficult to manage. Over roughly the last week, the main actionable developments have been Australia’s launch of funded...

Download Infographic Overview Ebola is a severe zoonotic viral disease caused by Orthoebolavirus species, including Ebola, Sudan, and Bundibugyo viruses. The disease has an average fatality rate of around 50%...

Exploring the systems behind global immunization  Vaccines save lives. But vaccination outcomes are never determined by vaccines alone. They are shaped by systems. Why do some countries achieve high public...

Overview Ebola is a severe zoonotic infection caused by viruses in the genus Orthoebolavirus, with large human outbreaks caused primarily by Ebola virus (Zaire ebolavirus), Sudan virus, and Bundibugyo virus...

OUTBREAK WATCH: Ebola (Bundibugyo virus) — DRC & Uganda Situation as of 18 May 2026 | Sources: WHO, Africa CDC, US CDC Background On 5 May 2026, WHO received an alert about an unusually high-mortality...

Over roughly the past week to 18 May 2026, the main actionable developments have been a new WHO COVID‑19 antigen recommendation, regional RSV and influenza program moves (especially in Australia and Latin...

WHO reports a multi‑country cluster of Andes hantavirus linked to a Dutch‑flagged cruise ship. As of 8 May 2026, eight cases (six confirmed, two probable) and three deaths (case fatality ratio 38%) have been...

1. Australia’s child flu vaccine slide is the real post-COVID warning This multicenter prospective test-negative surveillance study enrolled 8,762 influenza-positive hospitalizations and 10,955 influenza...

Asia (SE Asia, China, India) No new schedule or policy updates from CDC-equivalents this week. We found no fresh national immunization schedule changes or formal vaccine-policy statements from CDC-equivalent...

Licensing (or licensure) of a vaccine means that a national regulatory authority has formally reviewed all the data on a vaccine based on predefined criteria and characteristics and granted permission for it...

Despite efforts to reduce canine transmission, rabies still claims in the region of 60,000 human lives each year, mainly in lower and middle-income countries. (1) Effective vaccines exist and may be used for...

1. MenB vaccines show lab cross-protection against MenX—but conjugates are still the gold standard In this laboratory study, investigators evaluated whether the protein-based meningococcal B vaccines 4CMenB...

Over the last week, developments have centered on immunization weeks and campaign intensification, selective adult RSV and influenza policy refinements, and several notable regulatory and manufacturing moves...

1. Multistage malaria shot shows mid-term protection in Malian adults – but transmission benefits still unproven In this randomized, double blind trial from peri urban Mali, 34 healthy adults (18–50 years)...

The story of early TBE research in the Soviet Union is more than a historical curiosity. It offers a vivid case study of how science, politics, and social conditions intertwine. It reminds us that medical...

Over roughly the past week, formal NITAG/agency outputs have largely reinforced and operationalized earlier 2026 policy decisions, while the most clearly “new” developments sit in World/Regional Immunization...

Download Infographic Overview This infographic provides an overview of tick-borne infectious diseases in humans, focusing on bacterial infections and babesiosis. It explains the relationship between causative...

1. MF59-aQIV looks economically persuasive in Korea and Taiwan — but the price assumptions do a lot of the work This modelling study assessed the cost-effectiveness of MF59-adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza...

World Immunization Week (24–30 April) has become the flagship moment each year when the global immunization community pauses, takes stock, and speaks with one voice about the power of vaccines. Each April, the...

Global vaccination policy this week feels less like harmonized orchestration and more like controlled fragmentation—with a purpose. European and Western Pacific advisory groups are quietly locking in 2026–2027...

Global WHO and public health WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG‑CO‑VAC) is preparing its next decision on updated COVID‑19 vaccine antigen composition, with a meeting scheduled...

Download Infographic Overview Tick-borne viral diseases are transmitted by infected ticks and occur across the globe. Clinical outcomes range from asymptomatic to mild febrile illness to severe disease...

1. Long COVID research needs patient peer review – not just patient quotes In a Lancet Infectious Diseases Comment, the authors argue that long COVID research systematically incorporates patient expertise via...

Download Infographic Overview Global vaccine production is estimated at approximately 14.5 billion doses annually. The global vaccine market reached around $35 billion in revenue in 2024–2025. Major global...