EUROGIN: Merck’s 9-valent HPV vaccine provides protection at least 14 years.
Among 2029 women in Scandinavian countries who were followed up for 14 years, vaccine effectiveness was 100%.
Published: March 19, 2026.
Yellow fever in the Americas: Nearly 3/4 of cases reported from Colombia.
From January 1 through February 21, 2026, 34 confirmed human cases of yellow fever were reported in four countries in the Americas Region, including 15 deaths. Leading in both cases and deaths is Colombia with 25 cases and 13 deaths, accounting for 73 percent and 87 percent of the total cases and deaths, respectively.
Published: March 18, 2026.
https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/yellow-fever-in-the-americas-nearly
Experimental hookworm vaccine shows promising protection in phase 2 human trial.
Researchers from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, announced on Mar. 18 that a candidate vaccine for hookworm infection showed encouraging results in a phase 2 clinical trial.
Published: March 18, 2026.
New vaccine to stop deadly meningitis epidemics confirmed to be safe.
Analysis of vaccination campaigns in Nigeria and Niger found very few serious adverse events among more than 4.8 million people immunized. In July 2023, the World Health Organization prequalified a new meningococcal conjugate vaccine, which protects against the five main causes of epidemic meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa. Although clinical trials had already shown the Men5CV vaccine to be safe and effective, WHO advised countries introducing it to closely monitor adverse events in these real-world conditions. A new study, published in Vaccine, provides the first large-scale real-world safety data for the vaccine following its use in outbreak response campaigns in Nigeria and Niger in 2024. It confirmed the vaccine’s safety in real-world outbreak settings, with very low rates of serious adverse events and no new safety signals detected.
Published: March 18, 2026.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/new-vaccine-stop-deadly-meningitis-epidemics-confirmed-be-safe
Child mortality: millions of preventable deaths as aid cuts thwart progress, UN warns.
Millions of children around the world are still dying from preventable causes, and progress on tackling this is being harmed by global aid cuts, United Nations (UN) leaders have warned. A major UN report, Levels and Trends in Child Mortality, estimated that 4.9 million children globally died before their 5th birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns. Most of these deaths could have been prevented with proven, low-cost interventions and better access to healthcare, the report stated. Globally, deaths among children under 5 have fallen by more than half since 2000. The report noted, however, that the reduction in child mortality had slowed by more than 60% since 2015.
Published: March 19, 2026.
Meningitis outbreak passes peak, says health agency (UK).
The peak of a fatal meningitis outbreak, thought to have originated in a Canterbury nightclub, has passed according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). A total of 29 confirmed or suspected cases of meningitis (Neisseria meningitidids serogroup B) have been linked to the Kent outbreak, which has killed two people.
Published: March 23, 2026.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgwrxdldmzo
Chikungunya in Suriname: Significant increase in cases reported.
In a follow-up on the chikungunya outbreak that was declared in Suriname in January, the Ministry of Health has confirmed a significant increase in the cases of chikungunya virus. According to the Central Laboratory of the Bureau for Public Health (BOG) and the laboratory of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, over 1,357 individuals have tested positive, confirming local transmission and one confirmed death and another being investigated.
Published: March 23, 2026.
https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/chikungunya-in-suriname-signicant
WHO: World Tuberculosis Day.
Each year we commemorate World TB Day to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
Published: March 24, 2026.
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day
PAHO: Epidemiological Update Pertussis (Whooping Cough) in the Americas Region – 25 March 2026.
According to the latest data published by the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, 941,582 cases of pertussis were reported in 2024, representing a 5.8-fold increase compared to the number of cases reported in 2023 (n= 163,388 cases). The highest proportion of cases was recorded in the WHO regions of the Western Pacific (n= 593,659 cases) and Europe (n= 298,612 cases). In the Americas Region, there was a gradual decline in the number of cases reported annually between 2015 and 2019, and again in 2021–2022, when the number reached its lowest point at 3,284 cases. Subsequently, a significant increase in cases was recorded between 2023 (n= 11,202 cases) and 2024 (n= 66,184 cases), with a moderate decline during 2025 (n= 46,870 cases).
Published: March 25, 2026.
EMA: Vaccine Essentials: Supporting vaccine literacy.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is collaborating with healthcare professional organizations and learned societies to develop a communication tool on vaccines. ‘Vaccine Essentials’ is meant to help increase vaccine science literacy. It relies on vaccine science and regulation to address vaccine-related information gaps and concerns that healthcare professionals identify. The first Vaccine Essentials topic focuses on meningococcal B vaccines, also known MenB vaccines. These vaccines help prevent the invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by Meningococci B bacteria. It is a serious bacterial infection that can have life-changing consequences for children and young adults.
Published: March 25, 2026.
New Covid strain that could evade protection from vaccine found in UK.
The Covid variant BA.3.2 has been detected in 23 countries including the UK. A new Covid variant spreading across the US has also been identified in the UK, health chiefs have warned. The strain, known as BA.3.2, has been detected in nasal swabs taken from four American travellers and clinical samples from five patients in four unidentified states.
Published: March 26, 2026.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/new-covid-strain-uk-variant-vaccine-b2946014.html
ECDC: First human case of influenza A(H9N2) infection imported in the EU.
A human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) infection in a returning traveler from a non-European country where the virus has previously been identified in birds, has been reported in the Lombardy region of Italy. This is the first human case of avian influenza A(H9N2) reported in the EU/EEA.
Published: March 25, 2026.
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/first-human-case-influenza-ah9n2-infection-imported-eu
MERS imported to France: a wake-up call to revamp preparedness, control, and research.
The reports of two imported cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in France in December 2025,1 along with the 14 cases reported in Saudi Arabia earlier in 2025, are reminders of the need to keep MERS under scrutiny. Although the pandemic potential of MERS-CoV is thought to be limited, the fluctuating pattern of cases and the simmering threat of the infection highlight why we should enhance research and control efforts.
Published: March 27, 2026.
BMJ 2026; 392 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.s597
Measles: 38 children dead in Bangladesh outbreak.
At least 38 children in Bangladesh have died from measles, leading health authorities to rollout a vaccination program for younger children in a bid to halt the outbreak. Official data show that in 2026 more than 2300 children have been admitted to hospital with suspected measles, of whom 684 have tested positive so far.
Published: April 2, 2026.
https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj.s654
A roadmap for Malaria-in-pregnancy vaccines: ADVANCE-VAC4PM Workshop findings now published.
Placental malaria (PM) is a severe disease that affects a particularly vulnerable demographic group, pregnant women. The burden of disease is high, threatening more than 100 million women every year, causing the death of an estimated 50,000 pregnant women and up to 200,000 infants. An effective vaccine would be an attractive tool to control PM on its own, or to complement the existing yet imperfect tools. The overall project objective is to advance the clinical development of two promising PM vaccine candidates, PRIMVAC and PAMVAC, identifying the best vaccination strategy to improve and broaden the vaccine-induced immune response for future phase 2/3 clinical trials.
Published: April 2026.
https://www.advance-vac4pm.eu/
Rodríguez-Morales AJ, Acevedo-Jimenez K, Guevara ME, Chang-Cojulun A, Brea-Del Castillo J, Palmieri M, Avila-Agüero ML, de Novales FJM, Torres-Martínez C, Olaya SX, Chacon-Cruz E, et al. Yellow Fever in Pregnancy: A Comprehensive Review of the Clinical Implications and Vaccination in the Context of the 2024–2026 Americas Outbreak. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease. 2026; 11(4):92.
Editorial comment: Yellow fever remains a major threat in endemic regions, with pregnant women as a vulnerable but understudied group. Current evidence does not show increased disease severity in pregnancy, though adverse maternal–fetal outcomes can occur. Diagnosis and management are challenging in resource-limited settings. Available data support the safety and effectiveness of vaccination during pregnancy, with benefits outweighing risks in high-exposure settings. A risk-based approach, integration into antenatal care, and improved surveillance and research are essential to reduce disease burden.
https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed11040092
Liu R, Patterson L, Yeasmin M, Kim KH, Park BR, Bhatnagar N, Raha JR, Grovenstein P, Pal SS, Le CTT, Shin CH, Du L, Kumar M, Kang SM. Low-dose multivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines enhance broadly cross-reactive antibodies and protective immune responses of co-administered protein-based vaccines. Virology. 2026 Mar 21;619:110884.
Editorial comment: Low-dose multivalent mRNA vaccines induce broader and stronger cross-reactive immunity than high-dose monovalent vaccines. Combining trivalent mRNA with variant spike proteins further enhances neutralizing responses, and coadministration with influenza vaccines improves immunogenicity against influenza.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2026.110884
Ukraine warns of rabies, Lyme disease with the arrival of spring. With the arrival of spring, Ukranian hea
lth officials are warning of the increased rosk of two infectious diseases: rabies and Lyme disease.
Published: April 5, 2026.
https://outbreaknewstoday.substack.com/p/ukraine-warns-of-rabies-lyme-disease
Norovirus outbreak on Princess cruise ship sickens more than 150 passengers and crew.
A norovirus outbreak sickened more than 150 passengers and crew aboard a Princess cruise ship as it sailed through the Caribbean last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced.
Published: March 15, 2026.
WHO calls for action: “Together for health. Stand with science.” to mark World Health Day.
The World Health Organization (WHO) today calls on people everywhere to renew their commitment to working together and supporting science as the twin engines driving better health, under the World Health Day 2026 theme: “Together for health. Stand with science.” The campaign marks the anniversary of WHO’s founding on 7 April 1948, launching a year-long public health campaign.
Published: April 6, 2026.
Next-Gen Yellow Fever Vaccine Hits the Mark in Mid-Stage Trial.
Yellow fever outbreaks in recent years and subsequent vaccine shortages have highlighted a need for updated shots that can be produced more rapidly. To help speed production, an investigational live-attenuated yellow fever vaccine is being developed that is produced in Vero cells instead of eggs. In this randomized phase II trial, the novel yellow fever vaccine proved noninferior to the FDA-approved shot for seroconversion at day 29.
Published: April 8, 2026.
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/vaccines/120708
Watch out, hookworms: an effective vaccine might be on the horizon.
Promising results from an experimental hookworm vaccine trial offer hope for the more than 400 million who contract the parasitic infection every year. The phase 2 study, published last month in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, was a double-blind clinical trial. Participants who received the Na-GST 1/Al–CpG vaccine candidate had significantly milder infections than those in the placebo group, as well as volunteers who received one of two other vaccine candidates.
Published: April 8, 2026.
Why mpox outbreaks can change course and what we can do about it.
A new model shows how the mpox virus can shift from transmission among adults to among children over the course of an outbreak. Our responses may need to adapt.
Published: April 9, 2026.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/why-mpox-outbreaks-can-change-course-and-what-we-can-do-about-it
Two new TB vaccine candidates show promise but fail to stop infection.
A large trial in India suggests the VPM1002 and Immuvac vaccine candidates are safe and may reduce the risk of active tuberculosis in adults and older children, but do not prevent infection or transmission.
Published: April 14, 2026.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/two-new-tb-vaccine-candidates-show-promise-fail-stop-infection
Forbes Africa: South Africa’s first-in-human HIV vaccine trial signals a scientific power shift.
In February, the first trial participants received the BRILLIANT 011 experimental HIV vaccine – a first-in-human clinical trial by the BRILLIANT Consortium (BRinging Innovation to cLinical and Laboratory research to end HIV In Africa through New vaccine Technology) – led by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
Published: April 10, 2026.
More Americans doubt vaccine safety than trust it, POLITICO Poll finds Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views are commonplace across the land.
Published: April 14, 2026.
CEPI and PAHO expand partnership to strengthen regulatory systems and vaccine safety across the Americas.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) have expanded their collaboration through a series of new cooperation agreements to strengthen regulatory systems and pharmacovigilance programs across Latin America and the Caribbean, supporting faster, safer, and more equitable access to vaccines, with a focus on public health emergencies.
Published: April 14, 2026.
