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Globally, the timing of seasonal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreaks can vary by year and geography.
Based on various data sources, RSV cases are scarce everywhere as of August 19, 2024.
For example, the World Health Organization Influenza Update N° 488 reported that most countries had not reported RSV activity for the 2024-2025 season.
And in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported RSV incidence levels remained low as of August 19, 2024.

Whether diseases start at home or school, parents can take action today to protect their children against viruses such as influenza and measles.
In the United States, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program has effectively removed a significant barrier to protecting children from diseases by eliminating financial costs for eligible children.

While much of the United States has been spared from the dengue fever virus outbreak that is currently affecting the Region of the Americas, there has been a concerning increase in the number of cases in Texas.
According to the Texas Department of Health Services (DHSH), the number of imported dengue cases rose from ten on July 9, 2024, to twenty-seven in fifteen counties, led by Collin (5) and Travis (4) on August 13, 2024. There have not been any locally-transmitted dengue cases in Texas this year.

In the United States, recent studies suggest that approximately 476,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease (LD) each year. But who are these people?
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a study in Emerging Infectious Diseases indicating that most LD diagnoses in the United States occurred during the summer, primarily among older men and individuals living in high-incidence states.

As the summer of 2024 comes to a close in the United States, disease-carry Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes continue to spread three serious diseases throughout the Region of the Americas.
On August 14, 2024, the Pan American Helath Organization (PAHO) issued an updated Epidemiological Update confirming chikungunya (371,265), dengue (11,199), and Zika (24,679) viruses have been recently identified in most countries in the Region.

With an aging population, age-related cognitive decline is an increasing health burden for families and society. Recently, there has been scientific evidence indicating that herpesviruses may influence the risk of cognitive decline, such as dementia.
A recent study published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy revealed that individuals who have had herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) may have a 20% higher risk of experiencing subsequent subjective cognitive decline (SCD) over the long term.