ETIDIOH - NEW

{Summary) Risk statement -- This WHO Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA, v2) aims to assess the risk of diphtheria at the regional level , considering the public health impact , the risk of geographical spread and the risk of insufficient control capacities with available resources.  -- Diphtheria is a major public health problem in the WHO African Region (AFR) despite significant efforts on immunization in the past decades (e.g. introduction of DTP vaccine in the Expanded Program on Immunisation in 1974).  -- Between 2000 and 2024, 75 789 diphtheria suspected cases were reported across the Region with an average 3 500 cases per year .     -- Between the beginning of 2025 and as of 1 March 2026 , over 29 000 suspected diphtheria cases with 1 420 deaths ( CFR 4.9% ) have been reported across these eight countries: Algeria, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania , Niger, Nigeria and South.  -- This represents a 67% increase in the number of suspected cases (11 749 additional...

  Summary -- What is already known about this topic? - CDC tracks SARS-CoV-2 variants internationally using digital public health surveillance and in the United States using genomic surveillance, including wastewater and traveler-based surveillance.  - The highly divergent SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.3.2 was first detected in a respiratory sample collected on November 22, 2024, in South Africa. -- What is added by this report? - As of February 11, 2026, BA.3.2 had been reported in 23 countries.  - Detections began increasing in September 2025.  - In the United States , BA.3.2 was detected in nasal swabs from four travelers, three airplane wastewater samples, clinical samples from five patients, and 132 wastewater samples from 25 U.S. states. -- What are the implications for public health practice? - Monitoring the spread of BA.3.2 provides valuable information about the potential for this new SARS-CoV-2 lineage to evade immunity from a previous infection or vaccination. Ab...

  Situation at a glance Multi-country recalls of infant formula and other products have been initiated after cereulide toxin , was detected in batches of multiple internationally distributed brands .  Investigations have identified arachidonic acid (ARA) oil , used as an ingredient in the implicated products, as the source of contamination .  However, the full root cause analysis and complete traceability of all affected batches remains under investigation.  Contaminated formulae , nutritional products, and oil mixes have been distributed to 99 countries and territories across six WHO Regions, with the first product recalls initiated on 10 December 2025.  Between 1 January and 25 February 2026, 144 suspected and confirmed cases were reported across ten countries in three WHO Regions, with investigations ongoing.  Based on the available information , WHO assesses the overall public health risk as moderate due to the vulnerability of the affected population (...

  {Summary} Risk Statement   -- This Rapid Risk Assessment (RRA) evaluates the global public health risk posed by Nipah virus (NiV), considering the distinct epidemiological profiles of  - i) enzootic countries , where recurrent zoonotic spillover and limited human‑to‑human transmission continue to occur, and  - ii) non‑enzootic regions , where the risk remains primarily associated with infected travellers or importation of infected livestock.  -- The assessment considers the ecological and seasonal drivers of spillover , the constrained efficiency of human‑to‑human transmission , and the capacity of health and community systems to detect, confirm, and rapidly contain outbreaks.  -- Given that NiV has not demonstrated sustained transmission beyond outbreak settings and no human cases have ever been reported outside Asia , the global risk is largely determined by localized outbreaks in endemic areas and the very low likelihood of onward transmission fol...

  {Excerpt} (...) COVID-19 current vaccine safety status and insights   -- Since 2021, GACVS has regularly reviewed the safety of COVID-19 vaccines , including through global pharmacovigilance data and dedicated reviews of myocarditis, pregnancy outcomes and other adverse events of special interest (AESI).  -- The most recent updates reaffirmed that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks across all groups and advised continued monitoring for younger males and follow-up of persons who have reported vaccine-associated myocarditis .  -- Many individuals have received three or more doses of COVID-19 vaccine.  -- Some adverse events – such as myocarditis – seem to occur mainly after the second dose of mRNA COVID- 19 vaccines.  -- However, the outcomes were less severe in persons who developed myocarditis after vaccination compared to those unvaccinated and following infections, including SARS- CoV-2.  -- Also, children under six months of age seem t...

  {4 March 2026, excerpts} The 44th meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR or Regulations) on the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the WHO Director-General on 14 January 2026 with eight out of nine Committee members and the adviser meeting via video conference with affected countries, supported by the WHO Secretariat.  The Emergency Committee reviewed the latest epidemiological data on wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV) in the context of the global targets to interrupt endemic WPV1 transmission in 2026 and to stop cVDPV2 outbreaks by 2028 with subsequent certification of WPV1 eradication and cVDPV2 elimination.  Technical updates were received about the situation in the following countries :  - Afghanistan,  - Angola,  - Germany,  - Lao People’s Democratic Republic,  - Namibia,  - Pakistan and  - Papua New Guinea . Amendments to ...

  February 2026  WHO convenes technical consultations {1} in February and September each year to recommend viruses for inclusion in influenza vaccines {2} for the northern hemisphere (NH) and southern hemisphere (SH) influenza seasons, respectively.  This recommendation relates to the influenza vaccines for use in the NH 2026-2027 influenza season .  A recommendation will be made in September 2026 relating to vaccines that will be used for the SH 2027 influenza season.  WHO guidance for choosing between the NH and SH formulations for countries in tropical and subtropical regions is available on the WHO Global Influenza Programme website {3}.   National or regional authorities approve the composition and formulation of influenza vaccines used in each country.  National public health authorities are responsible for making recommendations regarding the use of the vaccine.  WHO has published recommendations on the prevention of influenza {4}....