GIDEON

📣In January 2026, the number of people needing treatment fell below 100 million for the first time. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁?

It's because , a bacterial eye infection, is the 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 worldwide.
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This trachoma milestone reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) reflects years of sustained prevention, treatment, and monitoring.

What a great way to kick off 2026's World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day today. 🚩

This success is proof that progress against NTDs is possible...
..provided there is a focused and targeted approach to public health responses.
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Public health progresses are rarely loud.
But sometimes, the numbers change in a way that tells a much bigger story.

🎉At GIDEON®, we support and applaud the work that public health agencies around the globe do to help advance the fight against Infectious Disease.

Did you know Neglected Tropical Diseases ( ) affect more than 1 billion people worldwide?

These 21 diseases and conditions disproportionately affect people living in poverty-stricken regions without:
* Adequate clean water
* Sanitation
* Access to healthcare

As a result, they have been historically neglected and underfunded compared to HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria.
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Most NTDs are also not known for having a very high mortality rate.

Instead, many lead to long-term illnesses, disability, isolation due to stigma, and a heavy financial burden for people who are infected and their families.
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Some of the most well-known neglected tropical diseases include:
•
• filariasis
• (Hansen’s disease)
• disease
•
•
• (a leading cause of blindness)

Some infections can remain undetected for years, delaying diagnosis and treatment.
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Several NTDs are transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes and sandflies, so disease spread is tied to environmental conditions.

Stronger outbreak surveillance in neglected regions supports earlier detection and response.
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At GIDEON® we staunchly support the fight against Infectious Disease by providing structured outbreak and epidemiology data and tools.

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀: 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝟭 𝗮𝘁 #𝗠𝗟𝗚𝗦𝗖𝗔/ #𝗡𝗖𝗡𝗠𝗟𝗚 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
Jean Felipe, MD, MPH, CPHQ from GIDEON® is all set to meet you at booth #5!

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀: 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 #𝗠𝗟𝗚𝗦𝗖𝗔/ #𝗡𝗖𝗡𝗠𝗟𝗚 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲?
Join us at the GIDEON® booth! We’d love to hear about your goals for 2026 and the challenges you’re navigating.

Learn how GIDEON’s infectious disease data and decision-support resources can help stack the odds in your favor.

See you in Las Vegas on Jan 16–18!

Visit: https://na2.hubs.ly/H030kLK0

A so-called “super flu” is driving one of the toughest seasons seen since before COVID in the United States, the United Kingdom, and parts of Europe.

🦠 A mutated flu strain is spreading fast and sending more people to doctors’ offices and hospitals early in the season.

•••

📌 What we know
• The 2025–2026 flu season is among the most severe in recent years
• Flu activity is high or very high across most of the United States
• Hospitals and emergency departments are reporting crowding
• The dominant strain is A H3N2, subclade K
• Early, intense flu seasons linked to this strain were reported in Japan and the UK
• Current evidence does not show this strain causes more severe illness than other H3N2 strains

•••

📈 Why it’s spreading
• Subclade K carries mutations that may help it evade some existing immunity
• strains are known to drive harder flu seasons
• The season started earlier than usual

•••

🔎 Takeaway
This flu season is intense and widespread, is already stretching hospitals, and has not yet peaked.

Learn more about how flu activity is tracked globally and why severity varies by season:

All You Need to Know About Influenza (Flu) Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus. It is spread rapidly from person to person.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎. 🚨

•••

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰
• The U.S. declared measles eliminated in 2000
• 𝐈𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓, 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 without a long enough break
• As of December 2025, more than 1,900 cases were reported across 43 jurisdictions
• 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐃𝐂 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟒𝟕 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫
• At least 3 measles-related deaths were confirmed in 2025
• A West Texas outbreak exceeded 700 cases and spread to multiple states
• South Carolina quarantined at least 254 people after confirming more than 2 dozen cases

•••

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠? 🌍
• Declining MMR vaccination coverage in certain communities
• Linked outbreaks spreading across state lines
• Limited public health communication early in the outbreak
• Some measles cases are linked to international travel, affecting under-vaccinated communities

•••

𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 GIDEON®𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠:

Eliminating measles is everyone's problem Measles is highly contagious but preventable with vaccines. Until all nations work to control it, outbreaks may continue to persist.

🚨 🦠𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 #𝐇𝟓𝐍𝟓 (𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧) 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!
It's a reminder that influenza viruses can still surprise us.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝?
In November, the United States confirmed the 1st human H5N5 case and its first human bird flu case in 9 months.
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𝐌𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰:
• The patient was an older adult with underlying conditions in Washington State
• Symptoms began in late October; patient was hospitalized in early November
• Tests confirmed H5N5, a strain previously detected only in animals
• 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑘𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑𝑠
• Contact tracing found no additional cases
• and say the current public health risk remains low
• 👉𝐍𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 (so that's some good news for now!)
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𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧?
• Global of avian influenza in birds and some mammals
• risk for people with close animal exposure
• Need stronger to flag new influenza subtypes early
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𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲: This case highlights the importance of monitoring 𝑧𝑜𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠 (when infections jump from animals to humans).
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𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐳𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 GIDEON 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: https://na2.hubs.ly/H02qT-J0

Sources: World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Washington State Department of Health

Zoonotic spillover: When animal diseases cross into humans Zoonotic spillover: when animal diseases jump to humans. Learn how viruses and bacteria cross species. Barriers, risk factors, and prevention strategies.

𝐀 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲!

Instead, it may build slowly through familiar diseases.

🔎 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝:
•
•
•
• /

🌡️ 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞:
• 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: Expanding mosquito ranges and increasing breeding sites
• 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Affects exposure and access to care
• 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: Limits treatment options

Researchers describe this pattern as a possible “𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒆.”

Basically, these long-standing diseases are moving into new regions and placing growing pressure on already-strained health systems.
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📘 Published in Scientific Reports, the study includes insights from 3,752 health professionals and researchers in 151 countries. Most participants were from low and middle income regions.

The authors call for increased investment in diagnostics, disease surveillance, and equitable research partnerships.

#𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒: 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠 (𝑆𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑠, 2025).
⬇️Link in comments
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The 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 #𝗘𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗮 #𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿.

The WHO (World Health Organization) confirmed the 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝟰𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗻𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀.

👉𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀
• 64 cases reported over the outbreak, including 45 deaths
• 53 confirmed and 11 probable cases
• More than 47,500 people vaccinated
• Outbreak contained in about 3 months, despite the remote setting and early healthcare-linked spread

👉𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Fast detection, vaccination, and coordinated response continue to shape outcomes in areas with limited access to care.

Learn more about the struggle to eliminate Ebola on the GIDEON® blog: https://na2.hubs.ly/H02lHlZ0

Fighting Ebola: Breakthroughs, challenges, and the path forward From deadly outbreaks to vaccines and treatments: how scientists are tackling the Ebola virus with new strategies and oral medications.

🇺🇸"𝗞𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝗴" 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦
In 2017, a Missouri woman tested positive for Chagas disease. She'd 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. So how did she get infected?

👉Right in her own backyard.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻?
👉 An estimated 300,000 Americans now have Chagas, a disease previously known as a tropical disease.

👉Fewer than 2% know they're infected.

👉 Chagas has been found in 32 US states. Local cases confirmed in California, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲?
Chagas is caused by a parasite spread by triatomine insects, called "kissing bugs" because they bite people's faces while they sleep.

They leave f***s near the bite site (yes, gross!) and the parasite enters the body through their p**p.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
Most people have no symptoms at first. But years later, Chagas can cause serious heart problems, digestive issues, and 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩.

The good news? Treatment works well when caught early.

Learn more about symptoms, diagnosis, and prevention in our full article. 👇
https://na2.hubs.ly/H028dTh0

Chagas disease: The "kissing bug" disease spreading in the US Chagas disease is spreading in the US with kissing bugs in 32 states. Learn symptoms, how it spreads, diagnosis, treatment, and more.

📣 starts today. We would love to meet you. 🚨Join Jean Felipe, MD, MPH, CPHQ's session tomorrow, Saturday, Nov 22 from 11:15 to 11:45 am.

He will cover how GIDEON helps microbiologists work and educate with more accuracy and efficiency.
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📍Also, find us at Booth 4 in Room 007 throughout the conference.

📢 Heads-up on a serious health alert!

has confirmed its first ever outbreak of #𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠 #𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ( ).

At least 𝟗 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 have been identified and 𝟑 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 confirmed so far.

🔬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬

Marburg virus is a hemorrhagic fever virus in the same family as the deadly Ebola.

It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or contaminated surfaces.

There is currently no approved vaccine or antiviral treatment.

Supportive care (fluids, symptom relief) is key.

Early detection and infection-control measures matter a lot.

🧭 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬

Even though the outbreak is regionally contained it shows how fast severe infectious threats can emerge.

For anyone travelling or working near outbreak regions: awareness and preparation help reduce risk.

For organizations and health-systems: this reminds us to constantly assess readiness for rare but high-impact pathogens.

✅ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨

Stay informed via trusted sources (e.g. World Health Organization, national health ministries, ).

If travelling to areas with an outbreak: check travel-health advisories, ensure good hygiene, minimize contact in high‐risk situations.

At work or in your community: emphasize strong infection-prevention practices: prompt isolation of suspected cases, safe practices, and informed communication.

Reinforce that preparedness works: prevention and rapid response beat panic.

👉 For an in-depth look at what Marburg is, how outbreaks happen, and key response steps, 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒈:

Marburg Virus: All About Ebola’s Deadly Cousin | GIDEON Marburg virus disease (MVD) is a lethal hemorrhagic fever, a deadly cousin of Ebola. It is contagious and has no vaccine or cure.