Alerts
To date, eight cases have been reported, three of them fatal. Five cases have been confirmed as hantavirus infections. The identified agent is the Andes virus, the only hantavirus species known to have limited person-to-person transmission, mainly in settings involving close and prolonged contact. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers the risk to the general population to remain low.
HEALTH AUTHORITIES IN THAILAND HAVE ISSUED AN ALERT ABOUT AN OUTBREAK OF HEPATITIS A IN 2026, WITH A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF CASES COMPARED TO THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THIS DISEASE IS CLASSICALLY TRANSMITTED VIA THE FECAL-ORAL ROUTE. HOWEVER, TRANSMISSION CAN ALSO OCCUR THROUGH SEXUAL CONTACT, PARTICULARLY THROUGH ANAL SEXUAL PRACTICES. IT IS IMPORTANT TO EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR HAND HYGIENE, PROPER WASHING OF FOOD, AND THE CONSUMPTION OF SAFE DRINKING WATER AND EDIBLE ICE, IN ADDITION TO HYGIENE PRACTICES DURING ANAL SEXUAL ACTIVITY. THE HEPATITIS VACCINE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN PREVENTING THIS DISEASE.
THE MUNICIPALITY OF RIBEIRÃO PRETO, IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, IS FACING AN OUTBREAK OF HEPATITIS A. SINCE DECEMBER 2025, 604 PATIENTS WITH THIS DISEASE HAVE BEEN REPORTED. MOST CASES ARE OCCURRING IN YOUNG ADULTS. THE SOURCE OF INFECTION HAS NOT YET BEEN IDENTIFIED IN MOST PATIENTS. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER FOOD HYGIENE, HAND HYGIENE, SAFE SEXUAL PRACTICES, AND VACCINATION IS EMPHASIZED.
According to the latest epidemiological bulletin from Colombia, in 2026 a total of 449 probable cases and 33 confirmed cases have been reported, all originating from Tolima. With the continuation of this active outbreak, the disease poses a risk to neighboring departments, which is why vaccination efforts have been intensified in the affected and surrounding areas.
