Building the Future of Biodefense

Recommendation: Organizations in or traveling to Vanuatu should encourage employees to seek treatment if they develop symptoms consistent with a toxin exposure, such as vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, numbness or tingling of the skin, fatigue, joint/muscle pain, or temperature reversal (cold feels hot). Employees should avoid eating reef fish from local markets or restaurants, and organizations may wish to notify employees of the potential risk of eating fish while cases are occurring in Vanuatu. Organizations and individuals should dispose of any leftover fish.

Situation: As of 3/30, Vanuatu reported 75 ciguatera fish poisoning cases, with recent increases in week 12 after a brief decline between weeks 9 and 11. Most cases occurred in young adults, with no deaths reported. Cases were reported across 8 islands, predominantly Efate (63%), and most illnesses were linked to consumption of unspecified “other” fish, followed by reef fish and Karosol fish. See PHC alert 3/4 for earlier info. [Confidence: Very High]

Recommendation: Organizations in New Jersey, should provide flexible work schedules to support employees making vaccine appointments for themselves or family members. Measles is highly contagious and can quickly spread among unvaccinated individuals in a work environment.

Situation: New Jersey detected the measles virus in wastewater collected from a treatment plant in Essex County on 3/20. The treatment plant serves Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Union, and Essex Counties, which also includes Newark Liberty International Airport. The detection suggests that at least 1 individual in the community or traveling through the community around that time was infectious with measles. A sample collected on 3/23 at the same site was negative. No cases were reported among New Jersey residents in this region so far this year. [Confidence: Very High]

Recommendation: Powassan virus disease is a rare tick-borne disease. Organizations in Winnebago County, Illinois, with employees working outdoors in grassy or wooded areas should remind them that tick bite prevention is important for minimizing exposure risk. Wearing protective clothing, using insect repellent, and conducting tick checks after being in grassy, agricultural, or forested areas protects employees from tick-borne diseases.

Situation: Illinois health officials reported that ticks in Winnebago County tested positive for the Powassan virus for the first time. This follows a September 2025 report of Illinois’ first confirmed human Powassan virus case (see PHC alert 9/24/25). With no vaccine available and risk of serious complications, health officials urged residents to prevent tick bites and monitor for symptoms after outdoor exposure. [Confidence: Very High]

Recommendation: Organizations in Osaka, Japan, should provide flexible work schedules to allow sick employees (or those with caregiving duties) to stay home until 48 hours after gastrointestinal symptoms have stopped. Encourage robust hand and food hygiene.

Situation: According to media sources, over 600 students across 8 elementary and junior high schools in Kumatori Town, Osaka Prefecture, were ill with food poisoning linked to bread served in school lunches. An unnamed manufacturer in Izumisano City was the supplier of bread. Norovirus was detected in some students, as well as in an employee of the company that supplied bread. Health officials ordered the bread manufacturer to suspend operations for 5 days while investigations continue. [Confidence: Very High]