For how we live.
ECDC data show near-zero hepatitis B in under-fives and vertical transmission below 2%, alongside five million chronic infections and only seven countries meeting the harm-reduction benchmark.
Four years after the virus was first detected in south-eastern Australia, interviews in Tamworth find eligibility for a free vaccine has not translated into uptake.
The regional health agency counted 34 confirmed cases and 15 deaths in the first seven weeks of 2026, after 2025 brought the highest South American case total in over two decades.
PAHO counted 14,891 confirmed cases across the Americas in 2025, a 32-fold rise on 2024. Six South American countries reported cases, and only a third of the region's countries reach the coverage that stops outbreaks.
WHO's Emergency Committee extended the public health emergency for three more months. Wild poliovirus cases dropped from 99 to 40, while vaccine-derived strains spread to two new countries.
Thirty-seven had the necrotising form, of whom 41% died. Just 16% of vaccine-eligible children with encephalopathy had received that season's flu vaccine. There is no national surveillance for the condition.