World Hepatitis Day 2026. The World Hepatitis Day 2026 theme, “Hepatitis: Let’s break it down,” is a call to remove the barriers that stand between people and the services that can save their lives.
Viral hepatitis continues to be a major cause of preventable illness and death worldwide. The tools needed to eliminate viral hepatitis already exist. Effective vaccines, accurate diagnostics, curative treatments for hepatitis C, and lifelong therapies for hepatitis B can prevent infections, save lives, and reduce liver cancer and cirrhosis. Despite this, millions of people remain undiagnosed, untreated, or unable to access care due to stigma, limited awareness, health system gaps, and persistent inequalities.
Published: July 28, 2026.
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hepatitis-day/2026
First volunteer vaccinated in the world’s first Bundibugyo ebolavirus vaccine trial.
The University of Oxford’s Oxford Vaccine Group has today successfully vaccinated the first volunteer in the world’s first clinical trial of a vaccine designed to protect against Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BDBV).
Published: July 24, 2026.
Chile issues first-ever preventive hantavirus health alert.
Chile’s Health Ministry has issued its first-ever preventive health alert for hantavirus across 13 of the country’s 16 administrative regions to strengthen the healthcare system’s response to the disease’s rising fatality rate and the simultaneous presence of other health risks, including dengue, yellow fever and avian influenza. As of last week, authorities had recorded 46 infections and 18 deaths, representing a fatality rate of 39%.
Published: July 30, 2026.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/07/30/latam-chile-hantavirus-alert/7461785418638/
Europe’s heatwaves are fueling infectious diseases, health agency warns.
As summers are getting longer and hotter, health experts warn that higher temperatures are creating the perfect conditions for infectious diseases to spread across Europe.
Published: July 30, 3036.
Legionnaire’s Diseases Outbreak in New York.
The NYC Health Department is currently investigating a community cluster of Legionnaires’ disease in the Upper East Side neighborhoods of Carnegie Hill and Yorkville (ZIP codes 10028, 10128, and 10075). We are confident the source of the Legionella bacteria has been eliminated.
Published: July 27, 2026.
https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/legionnaires-disease.page
Cyclospora infections increase in 2 US outbreaks. Confirmed domestically acquired cases top 6,700 nationwide.
Cases are still being added to the huge outbreak affecting people in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Interviews with people sickened with cyclosporiasis indicate that many in those states ate at a Taco Bell restaurant and ate lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms de Mexico. That lettuce has since been recalled. However, the number of cases in the Cyclospora outbreak that’s unrelated to the massive nine-state lettuce-related cluster has increased from 72 to 93, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shared yesterday.
Published: July 30, 2026.
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cyclospora/cyclospora-infections-increasing-2-us-outbreaks
Dengue cases continue rise in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The Bangladesh Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported an additional 450 dengue fever cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total cases year to date to 12,020. In addition, one more death was reported, bringing the death toll this year to 39. The number of cases reported in July alone is 5,916.
Published: July 23, 2026.
https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/dengue-cases-continue-rise-in-bangladesh
NIAM 2026.
National Immunization Awareness Month is in August, giving organizations and coalitions the opportunity to work together to capture the public’s attention on immunizations. This page serves as a convenient guide to posting on social media throughout the month.
Published: August 2026.
https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/niam-2026/
Outbreak News Roundup: Thailand.
In Thailand, Department of Disease Control (DDC) issued a health warning as deaths from leptospirosis and melioidosis stand at 107 since the beginning of 2026. Dr Montien Kanasawat, director-general of the DDC, revealed that data from the Division of Epidemiology’s Digital Disease Surveillance system recorded 2,190 cases of leptospirosis between 1 January and 21 July 2026. The outbreak resulted in 30 deaths, representing a case fatality rate of 1.37 per cent.
Published: August 3, 2026.
https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/outbreak-news-roundup-thailand
Evolutionary history may help explain why some people develop more severe COVID-19 than others.
Every time a virus invades a person, it collides with thousands of years of human history. A study led by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and Howard University suggests that some of the genes involved in the body’s immune response today bear the marks of ancient battles with infectious diseases.
Published: August 4, 2026.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-evolutionary-history-people-severe-covid.html
Moderna begins first human trial of Bundibugyo Ebola vaccine.
Moderna on Tuesday said it has begun its first human trial of an experimental vaccine to protect against Bundibugyo ebolavirus, a strain of Ebola that has killed more than 1,650 people so far and currently has no approved vaccine.
Published: August 4, 2026.
Universal Influenza Vaccine Technology Landscape.
The Landscape is a database that compiles and summarizes publicly available information on the global R&D pipeline of universal, broadly protective, and next-generation influenza vaccine candidates, as defined in the Influenza Vaccines R&D Roadmap (IVR). Vaccine candidates profiled in the Landscape are designed to provide broader and more durable protection against seasonal and pandemic influenza, compared with current strain-specific influenza vaccines.
Published: July 30, 2026.
https://ivr.cidrap.umn.edu/universal-influenza-vaccine-technology-landscape
PAHO – Situation Report #8: Measles in the Americas Region. 31 July 2026.
Between epidemiological week (EW) 1 and EW 29 of 2026 (ending on 25 July 2026), the Region of the Americas reported 47,026 confirmed measles cases from 17 countries and territories, representing approximately a 5-fold increase compared to the same period in 2025. Guatemala (30,040), Mexico (12,233), the United States (2,318) and Canada (1,107) accounted for the majority (97%) of confirmed cases. Additionally, 48 deaths have been reported.
Published: August 1, 2026.
https://www.paho.org/en/documents/situation-report-8-measles-americas-region-31-july-2026
Climate Change Is Expanding Mosquito-Borne Disease Risk.
A new analysis by Climate Central found that 95% of major U.S. cities now experience more “mosquito disease days”—days with temperatures favorable for the transmission of West Nile virus. Compared with the early 1970s, cities have gained an average of 18 additional risk days per year, with the largest increase occurring in the Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest. These findings highlight another important consequence of climate change: the expanding window for mosquito-borne disease transmission, underscoring the need for stronger surveillance, vector control, and public health preparedness.
Published: July 22, 2026.
https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/mosquito-disease-days
CDC: Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Jalapeños.
CDC and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to jalapeño peppers. Businesses should check their inventory for the recalled jalapeño peppers and not sell or serve them. To date, 345 cases and 36 hospitalizations have been confirmed.
Published: August 5, 2026.
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/outbreaks/javiana-08-26/index.html
Africanews: Invasive mosquito sparks malaria fears across Africa.
A fast-spreading invasive mosquito is raising alarm across Africa, as scientists warn it could fuel a resurgence of malaria in major cities. The mosquito, known as Anopheles stephensi, is unlike traditional malaria carriers. It thrives in densely populated urban areas, breeding in water containers around homes and buildings, making it far harder to control. Even more concerning, the species has developed resistance to nearly every major insecticide currently used to fight mosquitoes, undermining one of the world’s most effective malaria control strategies.
Published: August 5, 2026.
https://www.africanews.com/2026/08/05/invasive-mosquito-sparks-malaria-fears-across-africa/
FDA approves Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine.
The agency on Wednesday approved mFlusiva, previously known as mRNA-1010, for use against seasonal influenza in all adults at least 50 years of age.
Published: August 6, 2026.
https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/moderna-fda-approve-mflusiva-seasonal-influenza/826864/
Good news in South Africa’s fight against TB.
The M72 vaccine is currently on phase three trials in five countries, including South Africa. The Health Department is gearing up for the arrival of a breakthrough tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, a potential gamechanger that could help wipe out the epidemic as a public health threat by 2030. The department said the M72/ASOIE vaccine is currently in phase three trials in five countries, including South Africa.
Published: August 3, 2026.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/health-department-gears-up-breakthrough-tb-vaccine/
WHO: Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus – Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This outbreak—initially confined to the Mongbwalu health zone in Ituri Province, over the last two months, the outbreak has expanded to five provinces (Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, Haut-Uélé and Tshopo), now affecting 49 health zones. The outbreak is now the largest Ebola outbreak ever reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 30 July 2026, a total of 3605 confirmed cases, including 1587 deaths, have been reported, corresponding to a crude case fatality ratio (CFR) of 44%.
Published: August 1, 2026.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2026-DON614
World Health Organization. Immunization coverage. 2026.
Zero-dose children fell by nearly 750 000 in the past year, but drop-out numbers high and stagnant, increasing risk of disease outbreaks.
Published: July 15, 2026.
Cholera outbreak kills 13, infects 240 in Chad since official declaration.
A cholera outbreak in Chad has killed 13 people and infected nearly 240 others since the government officially declared the epidemic in late July, as health authorities continue efforts to contain the spread of the disease, the Health Ministry announced Thursday.
Published: August 7, 2026.
https://sana.sy/en/health/2334961/
WHO position paper on COVID-19 vaccines – July 2026.
This WHO Position Paper updates WHO recommendations on the use of COVID-19 vaccines in the context of sustained SARS-CoV-2 circulation, high levels of population immunity, and the availability of variant-adapted vaccines. It also identifies evidence gaps and research priorities and provides guidance to support national immunization policies and vaccination programs as countries integrate COVID-19 vaccination into long-term disease management strategies.
Published: July 31, 2026.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-wer10130-138-156.
Chikungunya virus disease worldwide overview.
Since the start of 2026, and as of 5 August 2026 (data collection period 3–5 August, data available up to 28 July), 219 522 chikungunya virus disease (CHIKVD) cases and 81 associated deaths have been detected in 25 countries, excluding EU/EEA countries and territories.The majority in the Americas.
Published: August 2026.
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/chikungunya-monthly
EMA Validates Marketing Authorization Application for Pfizer/Valneva’s Lyme Disease Vaccine Candidate.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for PF-07307405, Pfizer and Valneva’s six-valent outer surface protein A (OspA)-based Lyme disease vaccine candidate and will now begin its formal assessment. There are currently no approved human vaccines for Lyme disease anywhere in the world.
Published: August 14, 2026.
