The rising number of arboviral outbreaks worldwide in 2025 underscores the urgent need for enhanced preparedness and response systems.
Approximately five billion people are estimated to be at risk of Aedes-borne arbovirus infections, and 700,000 deaths are estimated to occur annually due to arbovirus-related diseases.
Mosquito-transmitted diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika not only burden healthcare systems but also lead to significant morbidity, mortality, and economic losses.
Furthermore, increased international travel in the Americas and Europe this summer has contributed to the spread of these viruses in southern France (chikungunya) and the mountains of the Republic of Colombia (yellow fever), making an integrated approach to disease preparedness and response essential.
According to this World Health Organization (WHO) document published on July 16, 2025, key policy actions are designed to assist countries in preventing, preparing for, and effectively responding to arboviral threats.
The WHO says by strengthening capabilities in emergency coordination, collaborative surveillance, community protection, access to countermeasures, and clinical care, countries can significantly enhance their preparedness and resilience against current and future arboviral threats.
Previously, the U.S. CDC stated airports throughout the United States are visited by more than 1 billion travelers each year. These international travelers often move frequently from one place to another.
They can spread pathogens across international borders, making them a crucial population to consider when monitoring for new and emerging communicable diseases.
To better determine the health risk to the U.S., CDC’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program monitors for communicable diseases among arriving international travelers at select U.S. airports.
This data comes from nasal samples from arriving international air travelers, airplane wastewater, or from multiple airplanes across the United States.
For example, this chart shows weekly trends of SARS-CoV-2 test positivity from nasal swab samples collected from arriving international travelers.
Furthermore, states such as Florida publish weekly reports indicating the number of travel-related and locally acquired disease cases has been confirmed.
The CDC’s innovative program also fills gaps in global biosurveillance by monitoring trends in global circulation of communicable diseases.
Additionally, the CDC continually publishes and updates Travel Health Advisories, empowering international travelers to ‘know before they go’ which disease outbreaks, if any, may disrupt their pending trip abroad, and which travel vaccines are recommended.