From 27 January and 31 January 2019, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of Oman reported five cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection.
Dengue fever – Jamaica
On 3 January 2019, the International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point of Jamaica notified WHO of an increase in dengue cases in Jamaica.
From 1 January though 21 January 2019, 339 suspected and confirmed cases including six deaths were reported (Figure 1). In 2018, a total of 986 suspected and confirmed cases of dengue including 13 deaths have been reported. The number of reported dengue cases in 2018 was 4.5 times higher than that reported in 2017 (215 cases including six deaths). Cases reported to date for 2019 exceed the epidemic threshold (Figure 2).
Medical Product Alert N° 2/2019 (English version)
Medical Product Alert N° 1/2019
This Medical Product Alert relates to falsified Verorab® vaccines that have been identified in the Philippines and reported to WHO. This vaccine is used for the prevention of rabies in children and adults. It can be used to protect those who are at risk of exposure to rabies (pre-exposure vaccination) or to prevent the development of rabies after exposure has occurred, usually following the bite of an animal suspected of having rabies (post-exposure prophylaxis). Its genuine version is manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur.
Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical symptoms. Rabies is present on all continents, with over 95% of human deaths occurring in the Asia and Africa regions.