PRAC warns about known risk of aseptic meningitis with chikungunya vaccine IxchiqUpdate to product information recommended to reflect recent evidenceEMA’s safety committee (…, Agenda Agenda of the PRAC meeting 9-12 March 2026Draft Reference…, PRAC statistics: March 2026 , PRAC statistics: March 2026

Original title: “Meeting highlights from the Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) 9 - 12 March 2026”

reverse vaccinology based design of a universal multiepitope vaccine against chikungunya virus phylogenetic and immunoinformatics approaches

Original title: “Reverse vaccinology-based design of a universal multiepitope vaccine against chikungunya virus: Phylogenetic and immunoinformatics approaches.”

Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy - Investigation of a clinical trial drug VV261 as a potent antiviral candidate against Chikungunya virus Since 2004, CHIKV outbreaks have become more frequent and widespread, affecting millions of people and establishing Chikungunya disease as a significant global public health issue.1 In Asia, the Asian lineage (CHIKV-Asian) and the East-Central-South-African lineage (CHIKV-ECSA) have become the most prevalent. In July 2025, a large-scale outbreak occurred in Guangdong Province, China, resulting in more than 9000 confirmed cases.2 To date, no drug has been approved for clinical therapy, highlighting the urgent need to develop effective treatments against CHIKV. Considering the preclinical pharmacokinetic studies in mice and monkeys,5 it is estimated that after oral administration of 10 mpk VV261 in humans, the maximum blood concentration of 4’-FlU would be approximately 2000 ng/mL, which is about 9000-fold higher than the EC50 value for inhibiting CHIKV. Given the urgent clinical need for treatments against CHIKV, clinical studies should be conducted to investigate its efficacy for Chikungunya fever therapy. VV261 was designed to enhance the chemical stability and pharmacokinetic properties of 4’-FlU, the original nucleoside that is susceptible to aqueous solutions and obscure to be druggability, and our previous study has demonstrated that VV261 has potent activity against severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV).5 In 2024, VV261 has been approved for Phase I clinical trials in China for the treatment of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). The viral RNA copy reductions in the target tissues are consistent with the readouts of viral titers (supplementary Fig. 6). Additionally, the results of clinical sign scoring on muscle weakness of limbs, reduced activity, and piloerection revealed that compound VV261 (5 and 10 mpk) and T-705 (400 mpk) could significantly reduce disease severity (supplementary table 2).

Original title: “Investigation of a clinical trial drug VV261 as a potent antiviral candidate against Chikungunya virus | Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy”

Countries with evidence of chikungunya transmission. Some U.S. travelers may consider vaccination.

Original title: “Areas at Risk for Chikungunya”

The Southern United States shows a substantial increase in the number of counties that reported evidence of the mosquitoes that can spread chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses, according to new research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the Journal of Medical Entomology June 19.

Original title: “CDC surveys find increase in the number of U.S. counties with Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes that can spread Zika - Media Statement”

United States means residents in most of the country will see fewer mosquitoes and less risk of the diseases they spread. However, the chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean and Central and South American countries continues to spread with no sign of slowing down.

Original title: “Chikungunya outbreak progresses in Caribbean, Central and South America - Press Release”

New model estimates areas most likely to have had chikungunya activity in previous month.

Original title: “CDC Nowcasting the Spread of Chikungunya in Americas - Press Release”

Seven months after the mosquito-borne virus chikungunya was recognized in the Western Hemisphere, the first locally acquired case of the disease has surfaced in the continental United States. The case was reported today in Florida in a male who had not recently traveled outside the United States.

Original title: “First Chikungunya case acquired in the United States reported in Florida - Press Release”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is closely following new reports of the mosquito-borne chikungunya (chik-un-GUHN-ya) virus among residents of the French side of St. Martin in the Caribbean.

Original title: “First reports of Chikungunya in Western Hemisphere - Press Release”