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With winter vacations just a few weeks away, many international travelers are actively searching for safe and healthy destinations. Over the past few weeks, U.S. government agencies have updated Central American travel advisories, offering real-world insights on local health issues and safety risks.
For example, the U.S. Department of State recently updated its Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica advisories.

Located on Australia's southeast coast, New South Wales (NSW) Health recently reminded everyone to take action to avoid virus-carrying mosquitoes this summer.
NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection, Dr. Jeremy McAnulty, said in a media release on December 7, 2024, that mosquitoes thrive in warm conditions, increasing the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Japanese encephalitis in parts of NSW.

Located on Australia's southeast coast, New South Wales (NSW) Health recently reminded everyone to take action to avoid virus-carrying mosquitoes this summer.
NSW Health's Executive Director of Health Protection, Dr. Jeremy McAnulty, said in a media release on December 7, 2024, that mosquitoes thrive in warm conditions, increasing the risk of mosquito-borne illnesses such as Japanese encephalitis in parts of NSW.
Almost two-thirds of NSW's population, 5.3 million, live in the greater Sydney along Australia's southeast coast.

A new study reported that the seldom-discussed mosquito-transmitted Sindbis virus (SINV), related to Chikungunya alphavirus, has been confirmed for the first time in southwestern Spain.
The Spanish SINV isolates, which belong to Genotype I, are in a different clade and are more related to sequences from Northern-Central African countries, such as the People's Democratic Republic of Argelia or Kenya. This indicates a possible African origin for Spanish SINV. 

Over the past decades, Ebolavirus outbreaks have significantly impacted people's health in African countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Ebola, Sudan, and Bundibugyo are the viruses responsible for most large African outbreaks.
As of March 2024, the DRC has had 15 documented Zaire Ebolavirus outbreaks, with one recording a case-fatality rate of 66%.
A recent analysis indicates one U.S. FDA-approved vaccine has successfully reduced the impact of Ebola outbreaks.

The WHO Executive Board recently published a report following its 156th session, which provides an update on progress toward fully implementing and financing the Polio Eradication Strategy and the Polio Transition Framework.
Based on the September 2024 Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) meeting, the report was published on December 11, 2024.
Within this report, the Polio Oversight Board extended the Strategy by three additional years.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published an updated report on tuberculosis (TB), placing this infectious disease as the leading killer in 2023 and a substantial public health threat in the years to come.
The 2024 WHO Global TB Report highlights the return of tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, after three years dominated by SARS-CoV-2 as the leading cause of death from infectious disease, TB causing an estimated 1.25 million related fatalities.