With the arrival of the summer and increases in sea surface temperatures, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is highlighting the seasonal risk posed by Vibrio bacteria.

The bacteria live naturally in brackish coastal waters, where saltwater and freshwater mix, especially when temperatures are high and salinity is lower.

Infections with Vibrio sp. are rare. If saltwater is swallowed or shellfish or mussels are eaten, the bacteria can be ingested and lead to gastroenteritis. If the bacteria enter the body through small skin lesions (e.g., injuries to coral or fish spines), there is a risk of fulminant sepsis, especially in immunocompromised individuals or those with chronic liver or kidney disease, diabetes, or iron storage disease. The bacterium is inactivated by cooking or freezing.

As of 9 June 2025, public health authorities in France have reported 25 cases of locally acquired chikungunya virus disease in 11 different local administrative units. All clusters are currently classified as active. The largest cluster consists of 10 cases and is located in Salon-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône department.

This week authorities reported the first locally acquired chikungunya virus disease case from the Gironde department. In the previous week authorities reported the first locally acquired chikungunya virus disease case from the Bas-Rhin department. The other departments have reported locally acquired chikungunya virus disease or dengue cases in previous years.

On 13 July 2025,  a likely autochthonous case of chikungunya has been confirmed in the province of Piacenza, Emilia Romagna Region. The patient is an Italian man, resident in Castel San Giovanni, in the Pievetta area, aged over 65, who in recent days has presented with fever, musculoskeletal pain and conjunctivitis. The patient has not travelled to areas where the disease is endemic.

In July 2025, a child died from acute measles at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, marking the first pediatric measles death in over five years in England. The death happened during a local outbreak linked to vaccination rates below the 95% threshold needed for herd immunity.

Measles outbreaks are currently occurring in Europe and many other countries around the world.

According to media reports, a Swiss woman died of rabies at the end of June in the Moroccan fishing village of Taghazout. A close friend stated that the woman had been living and working in Morocco. During her stay, she developed a close bond with a stray dog she intended to adopt. Over time, the dog scratched her several times and eventually bit her.

Although the dog was taken to a veterinarian, it was reportedly misdiagnosed with distemper—a viral disease not transmissible to humans—and subsequently euthanized. After the bite, the woman received two precautionary rabies vaccine doses within a week, but the treatment may have come too late. Her friend believes the infection likely occurred from the initial scratch.

A recent fatal case of rabies was also reported in a UK traveler who had been scratched by a dog while in Morocco.

As of 8 July 2025, a total of 1’395 locally acquired chikungunya cases have been reported in Mauritius during 2025. 

As of 8 June 2025, 74’005 locally acquired malaria cases have been reported in Namibia, especially in endemic northern and northeastern regions. Five districts: Nkurenkuru (Kavango-West), Katima Mulilo (Caprivi stripe), Andar (Kavanogo-East), Outapi (Omusati region), and Nyangana (Kavango-East) accounted for 74% of new cases reported in the first week of June 2025. 

A surge in rabies cases in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has been confirmed, with the first human case of the year 2025 reported. So far, 76 animals have been reported affected.

Areas affected by rabies until June 2025:

A large outbreak of leptospirosis occurred among De-Suup trainees in Dewathang, Bhutan, following immersion in a contaminated pond during the monsoon season. The outbreak, initially presenting as a cluster of severe respiratory illnesses, resulted in 180 confirmed cases, 89 hospitalizations, and three fatalities, with Leptospira spp. laboratory-confirmed as the causative agent.