Between September 2022 and  March 2026, over 1’000 confirmed and possible cases of shigellosis and other gastrointestinal infections, including salmonellosis, have been detected in travellers returning from Cabo Verde to several countries in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), with new cases still being reported.

Most cases of shigellosis and other gastrointestinal infections, including salmonellosis, were linked to a hotel chain in Santa Maria, Sal Island. The exact source is unknown, but food- or waterborne transmission is likely, with some person-to-person spread also possible.

On 24 Mar 2026, laboratory testing confirmed the presence of yellow fever virus in a deceased red howler monkey (Alouatta seniculus) in Trinidad, with no human cases reported.

The Ministry of Health carried out surveillance and vector control measures in affected areas after the detection.

Monkeys act as sentinel species for the environmental circulation of the yellow fever virus.

Since 2025, EU/EEA countries have seen a rise in dengue cases among travellers returning from the Maldives, though without increased severity. In 2026 so far, at least 46 imported cases have been reported across four countries, continuing a trend that intensified in late 2025. This mirrors a significant surge in dengue cases within the Maldives itself, with 631 cases reported in January 2026 compared to 72 in January 2025.

In 2025, the Robert Koch-Institute (RKI) reported five gonorrhea cases linked to travel in Asia, with pathogens confirmed as extensively drug-resistant (XDR) or multi-drug-resistant (MDR). The cases, recorded between May and December 2025 across various German states, involved men aged 23–50 presenting with symptomatic urethritis. Four infections were likely acquired through heterosexual contacts in Thailand, and one case in China. Two patients reported contact with a sex worker abroad.

As of 20 March 2026, the Campania region of Italy has recorded at least 154 hepatitis A cases (+21 within 24 hours) since the beginning of the year. The increase in cases is suspected to be linked to contamination of bivalve molluscs, prompting intensified control measures across the entire bivalve supply chain.

Cotugno Hospital, the regional reference center for infectious diseases in Naples, is managing 54 hospitalized hepatitis A patients as of 22 March 2026, including eight new admissions to the emergency department on that day alone.

In response, Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi issued an emergency ordinance banning the consumption of raw shellfish and related molluscs in all public establishments.

As of 24 March 2026, 23 cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), including two deaths have been reported. The earliest known case became unwell on Monday 9 March, and the latest had onset of symptoms on 16 March 2026.

All cases are young adults with a median age of 19 years. The majority of outbreak cases (20) have been found to have an epidemiological link with a club in Canterbury. Of the 3 cases who did not report attending the club, all are University of Kent students in university halls accommodation and one has a link to those who attended the club. French authorities have informed the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) of one confirmed case in France in an individual who attended the University of Kent.

UKHSA have confirmed that all the 20 laboratory-confirmed cases are meningococcal serogroup B.

By 20 Mar 2026, public health authorities had administered approximately 4500 MenB vaccine doses and more than 10’500 courses of prophylactic antibiotics as part of an expanded outbreak control strategy targeting university students, school contacts, and individuals with identified exposure risk.

According to WHO, in week 09 and 10, 2026 (23 Feb to 8 March 2026): 18 out of 26 countries of the enhanced meningitis surveillance network shared their meningitis epidemiological data.

Epidemics (incidence ≥ 10/100’000 inhabitants):

• Central African Republic: Region 3
  
• Chad: Tanjile province (Guidari district)
  
• Niger: Niamey region (district Niamey 1)
  
  

Alerts (incidence ≥ 3 and <10/100’000 inhabitants):

• Burkina Faso: Sourou region
  
• Central African Republic: Region 3
  
• Chad: Tanjile province (Lai district)
  
• D.R. Congo: Kongo Central province, Sud-Ubangi province, Lomami province, Haut-Lomami province
  
• Ghana: North East region, Upper West region
  
• Niger: Niamey region (district Niamey 3), Agadez region (district of Bilma)
  
• Togo: Kara region
  

For previous epidemics and alerts, see news at www.healthytravel.ch.

Pathogens identified in 2026 (for updates, see LINK): S. pneumoniae 43%, N. meningitidis serogroup C 38.5%, N. meningitidis serogroup W 11%.

Namibia is experiencing a significant increase in malaria cases in early 2026, with more than 11’300 cases since 1.1.2026 – 73% of which were locally acquired – and 21 deaths. The 27% imported cases demonstrate high cross-border population mobility on the northern border. Transmission remains predominantly seasonal in the central and north-western regions, while north-eastern regions have endemic transmission with seasonal peaks. Transmission appears to be linked to post-rainy-season favourable conditions. 

From the PAHO epidemiological alert March 13, 2026: “In 2025, a total of 346 confirmed yellow fever cases and 143 deaths were reported across seven countries in the Region: Bolivia (8 cases, 2 deaths), Brazil (120 cases, 48 deaths), Colombia (125 cases, 46 deaths), Ecuador (11 cases, 8 deaths), Guyana (1 death), Peru (49 cases, 19 deaths), and Venezuela (32 cases, 19 deaths). During the first seven weeks of 2026, 34 human cases and 15 deaths have already been confirmed in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela.

PAHO noted that the sylvatic transmission cycle of yellow fever, involving mosquito vectors and nonhuman primates as hosts, reactivates periodically in the region, which is an expected phenomenon. However, since late 2025, human cases have been detected in geographic areas without recent transmission and outside previously considered risk zones, such as São Paulo state in Brazil and the department of Tolima in Colombia.”

Most cases in 2025 and 2026 were reported in non-vaccinated people. 2025 is the year with the highest case numbers after the strong peaks in 2017 /2018. The figures result in a case-fatality rate of 41% in 2025.
PAHO recommends affected countries to maintain vaccination coverage of at least 95% in exposed populations.

Confirmed cases of yellow fever in humans by year in the Americas Region, between 2016 and 2026 (Source: 2026-march-13-phe-epidemiological-alert-yellow-fever-final.pdf):