Travel Vaccine Breaking News

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update CDCHAN-00492 to supplement the HAN issued on May 17, 2023, offering updates on the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak.

As of June 1, 2023, a multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis is ongoing among patients who underwent procedures under epidural anesthesia in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, at two clinics: River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3.

A total of 212 residents in 25 U.S. states and jurisdictions have been identified who might be at risk of fungal meningitis because they received epidural anesthesia at the clinics of interest in 2023.

Three of these patients (two probable cases and one confirmed case) have died.

Various laboratories have detected fungal signals consistent with the Fusarium solani species complex from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients receiving follow-up care in Mexico or the U.S.

In addition, elevated levels of beta-D-glucan, a biomarker of fungal infection, have been detected in the CSF of at least six patients. Efforts by public health officials are ongoing to find and notify additional patients who might be at risk.

Healthcare providers, public health officials, and the public should be aware that all patients, including those without symptoms, who underwent medical or surgical procedures under epidural anesthesia in Matamoros, Mexico, since January 1, 2023, should be evaluated for fungal meningitis as soon as possible.

As of June 2, 2023, the WHO advises against the application of any travel or trade restrictions on Mexico and the U.S. based on the current information available on this event.

Florida Health recently published an updated Mosquito-Borne Disease Surveillance report that indicates there were three new cases of dengue confirmed last week in persons that had international travel.

As of May 27, 2023, seventy-seven travel-associated dengue cases have been reported in Florida during week #21.

And there have been two cases of locally acquired dengue in 2023.

As of June 1, 2023, the U.S. CDC reported 129 dengue cases in States and 256 dengue cases in U.S. Territories this year.

Other dengue outbreaks are posted at Vax-Before-Travel.

Southern Africa is again weathering a season of cholera, with six countries in the region recording outbreaks in 2023, reported Derick Matsengarwodzi with GAVI.

As of May 25, 2023, Malawi is the worst affected, recording 36,943 cases and 1,210 associated deaths between March 2022 and February 2023, according to World Health Organization (WHO).

So far this year, Malawi has received three shipments of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) in response to applications to the Gavi-supported stockpile established in 2013.

The latest 1.4 million OCV dose shipment arrived in Lilongwe in April 2023.

On May 22, 2023, Gavi published a roadmap outlining critical actions needed to ensure the supply of OCV can meet growing demand from countries.

The roadmap describes how these organizations, manufacturers, and countries can work together towards ensuring global OCV supply can support large-scale preventive vaccination by 2026.

"Cholera vaccines have steadily become more available over the past decade, meeting rising country demand," said Dr. Derrick Sim, Managing Director for Vaccine Markets and Health Security at Gavi, in a media release.

"As a result, the good news is we have doses to meet all emergency demand despite the rise in outbreaks, which is expected to continue. But this trend underscores the increasing importance of preventing outbreaks before they occur."

"The ultimate solution to both sustainable OCV supply and cholera control lies in our collective ability to  step up our efforts on prevention programs."

As of May 31, 2023, various cholera vaccines have been approved but remain in limited supply.

Note: The U.S. CDC recently issued an Alert Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions, regarding polio outbreaks, which includes Malawi.

EL PAIS recently reported two patients were diagnosed for the second time with mpox in Spain.

On May 26, 2023, the Vall d'Hebron (Barcelona) and Ramón y Cajal (Madrid) hospitals confirmed two patients had been reinfected with mpox.

EL PAIS reported these are the first mpox reinfection cases in Spain.

According to the Carlos III Health Institute, there have been 56 mpox cases in Spain since the beginning of 2023.

Previous reports in 2023 confirmed secondary mpox cases in Chicago, Il, Paris, France, and Seoul, South Korea.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released preliminary Tuberculosis (TB) cases data that the U.S. is also experiencing a disease resurgence.

The CDC reported that TB disease cases increased by 5% in 2022 to 8,300 cases.

TB cases have recently increased in California, New York, and Texas.

Healthcare providers and communities disproportionately affected by TB are recommended to.... Think. Test. Treat TB.

According to the WHO 2022 Global TB Report, an estimated 1.6 million people died from TB, an increase of 4.5% in one year. 

As of May 29, 2023, the 100-year-old Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is not widely used in the U.S. However, it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common.

There are over ten versions of the BCG vaccine used globally.

The Chilean Ministry of Health recently issued a health alert in Arica, Parinacota, Tarapacá, Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, and the Metropolitan Region, for the risk of Aedes aegypti mosquitos transmitting viruses such as yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, zika, and malaria.

The health alert empowers the strengthening of the surveillance system and the adoption of opportune measures for the control of mosquitoes and viruses.

“The Ministry of Health is taking the necessary measures,” Fernando Leanes, representative of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization in Chile, told CNN Chile on May 4, 2023.

In South America, the Stamaril® yellow fever vaccine is generally available.

Other travel vaccines are listed by Vax-Before-Travel.

The ECDC and the WHO Regional Office for Europe jointly reported influenza transmissions have significantly decreased.

As of May 21, 2023, the percentage of all sentinel primary care specimens from patients presenting with symptoms that tested positive for an influenza virus decreased to 2% from 4% in the previous week, which is below the epidemic threshold set at 10%.   

And 15 of 39 countries or areas reported low intensity; there were no reports of medium or higher intensity, with only 2 of 38 countries across the Region reporting widespread activity. 

Both the ECDC and WHO suggest international travelers speak with a healthcare provider about flu shot options for the forthcoming 2023-2023 influenza season.