Regional Health Emergencies and Disasters

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Nipah virus infection 

On 27 January 2026 India confirmed two cases of Nipah virus infection in West Bengal. Both are 25-year-old health care workers at a hospital North 24 Parganas district. The two cases were confirmed at the National Institute for Virology in Pune.
A total of 196 contact persons linked to the confirmed cases have been identified, traced, monitored, and tested. All contact persons have been found asymptomatic and have tested negative for Nipah virus. No additional Nipah case has been detected so far.
Prompt and comprehensive public health measures in accordance with established protocols have been initiated – including enhanced surveillance, laboratory testing, and field investigations by Central and State health agencies. The situation is being monitored.

Disease Outbreak News: Nipah virus infection - India

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DMC Sri Lanka
People moving in Water logged area
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Sri Lanka Floods and landslides – Cyclonic storm Ditwah November 2025 

02 December 2025, Sri Lanka is experiencing torrential rainfall, severe flooding and landslides as the northeast monsoon intensifies, worsened by the impact of Cyclonic Storm Ditwah which made landfall on the island’s eastern coast early morning on 28 November 2025. Cyclone Ditwah has resulted in a devastating nationwide emergency in Sri Lanka, affecting more than 1.4 million people from over 407,594 families across all 25 districts as of 10.00 am on 02 Dec 2025. The cyclone caused 410 confirmed deaths, and 336 people remain missing. Nearly 233,000 people have been displaced into almost 1,441 active shelters as homes and community infrastructure sustained severe damage. More than 565 houses fully destroyed and over 20,271 partially damaged. 

 

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WCO/Myanmar
Road damage en route to Nay Pyi Taw, disrupting access for emergency response and humanitarian delivery
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Myanmar Earthquake 2025 Update

On 28 March 2025, two powerful earthquakes struck central Myanmar’s Sagaing Region near Mandalay. The first, with a magnitude of 7.7, occurred at 12:50 p.m. local time, followed by a second of magnitude 6.4 at 1:02 p.m. Multiple aftershocks have since been reported, disrupting ongoing rescue operations

WHO response to Myanmar Earthquake 2025
People's Health in Myanmar
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WHO/SEAR/WHE/HIM
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WHO South-East Asia Region Epidemiological Bulletin

This epidemiological bulletin aims to provide the situation of key infectious diseases in the WHO South-East Asia region to inform risk assessment and response by countries. The bulletin uses information from publicly available sources and will be published every two weeks.

1st edition, SEAR Epi bulletin 14 Jan 2026, Reporting period: 29 Dec 2025 to 11 Jan 2026
Earlier bulletins
RSRHS

The Regional Strategic Roadmap on health security and health system resilience for emergencies 2023–2027 was developed under the overall guidance of the Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, by WHO Regional Office staff. Inputs from literature reviews, Member States’ self-assessments and joint external evaluations of IHR (2005) core capacities, intra-action reviews of COVID-19 response at country and regional levels, and reports of regional consultations, were used in its preparation. Experts and partners provided valuable guidance on the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 response. The Health Emergencies Department of the Regional Office expresses its gratitude to all individuals who actively participated in, helped organize content and contributed to the formulation of the Roadmap.

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As the COVID-19  pandemic spreads, WHO is supporting countries in their containment and mitigation efforts such as by providing technical guidance, laboratory capacity strengthening for testing, equipment for hospitals and healthcare workers, and creating awareness and addressing misinformation. This website provides information and guidance of relevance to the WHO South-East Asia Region.