Human emerging respiratory pathogens bulletin : Current bulletin
A monthly summary of surveillance indicators related to international and domestic public health events affecting humans in the field of emerging respiratory pathogens.
- Last updated: 2026-02-12
The Human Emerging Respiratory Pathogens (HERP) Bulletin is a monthly publication developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)'s Centre for Emerging and Respiratory Infections and Pandemic Preparedness (CERIPP).
The HERP Bulletin serves as a mechanism for information sharing on summary surveillance indicators of global and domestic public health events affecting humans in the field of emerging respiratory pathogens. This includes pathogens such as novel influenzas (both avian and swine-origin), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and other ad-hoc emerging respiratory pathogens.
In this bulletin
- Avian influenza updates
- Swine influenza updates
- Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) update
Monthly highlights from July 2025
Events in Canada
No domestic events were reported in Canada in February 2025.
International events
In February 2025, the following human cases were reported internationally:
| Pathogen | TypeFootnote 1 | Cumulative case countFootnote 2 | Deaths | Case fatality rate percentage (%)Footnote 3 | Date of last reportFootnote 4 |
|---|
Avian influenza updates
Avian influenza A(H5N1)
Figure 2. Spatial distribution of human cases of A(H5N1) influenza reported globally from January 1, 2022 to (n={{H5N1_N}})
Figure 2: Text description
| Country | Number of Cases |
|---|
Figure 3. Temporal distribution of human of A(H5N1) influenza reported globally, by year, January 1, 2003 to (n={{H5N1_N}})
Figure 3: Notes
- Graph was prepared by CERIPP using data from the WHO EIS postings, the US CDC’s Health Alert Network (HAN), and WHO cumulative case counts.
- This graph reflects data available as of September 30, 2025.
- The year of death for one fatality is unknown, therefore that fatal case was not included in this graph.
- A(H5) cases reported in the US that are presumed to be A(H5N1) were also included.
Avian influenza A(H5N2)
Avian influenza A(H5N5)
Avian influenza A(H5N6)
Figure 4. Temporal distribution of human cases of A(H5N6) influenza reported globally, by month, January 1, 2021 to (n={{H5N6_N}})
Figure 4: Notes
- Graph was prepared by CERIPP using data from the WHO EIS postings and the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) press releases.
- This graph reflects data available as of September 30, 2025.
Avian influenza A(H9N2)
Avian influenza A(H10N3)
Swine influenza updates
Swine origin influenza A(H1N1)v
Swine origin influenza A(H1N2)v
Swine origin influenza A(H3N2)v
Eurasian avian-like influenza A(H1N1)v
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) update
Figure 5. Temporal distribution of human of MERS-CoV reported to the WHO, globally, by month and year, January 1, 2018 to (n={{MERS_CoV_N}})
Figure 5: Notes
- Graph was prepared by CERIPP using data from the WHO Disease Outbreak News (DON) and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health.
- This graph reflects data available as of September 30, 2025.
- The data integrates CERIPP’s prospective surveillance with WHO DON retrospective reporting of MERS-CoV cases and deaths.
- *In November 2022, the WHO published a DON article that updated their counts with retrospective cases and deaths, which resulted in an increase of an additional 5 cases and 41 deaths compared to their previous MERS-CoV-related DON. These 41 deaths were batch reported in November 2022, but they did not all occur in the same month.
- Footnote 1
-
Date of 1st Reported Case of Human Infection: A(H9N2): 1998. A(H5N6): 2014. A(H5N8): December 2020. A(H7N4): February 2018. A(H1N2): March 2018. A(H10N3): May 2021. A(H3N8): April 2022. A(H3N2)v: 2011. A(H1N2)v: 2005. A(H1N1)v: 2005. EA A(H1N1): 1986, but the above table counts cases from January 2021. A(H10N5): January 2024. A(H5N2): May 2024. A(H5N1): 1997, but the above table counts cases from January 2003.
- Footnote 2
-
Cumulative Case Counts: updated using data reported by the World Health Organization (avian and swine influenza, MERS CoV), and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) (swine influenza).
- Footnote 3
-
Case Fatality Rate: The proportion of cases that resulted in death. Note that this rate is dependent on accurately reported deaths. For events with active cases, may be updated retrospectively as final disposition is known.
- Footnote 4
-
Date of Last Report: The month and year in which at least one human case of the corresponding pathogen was previously reported.
- Footnote 5
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A(H1N2): Virus is a seasonal reassortant of the A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) seasonal strains.
- Footnote 6
-
A(H5N1): The N-type was not available for all reported A(H5) cases, but depending on the situational context, some cases were presumed and counted as A(H5N1) cases.
- Footnote 7
-
A(H3NX)v: Virus is a novel influenza A(H3) virus with pending, inconclusive, or undetermined neuraminidase results.
- Footnote 8
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A(H1NX)v: Virus is a novel influenza A(H1) virus with pending, inconclusive, or undetermined neuraminidase results.
- Footnote 9
-
Global Case Count: cumulative case count and deaths due to MERS-CoV reflect retrospective updates provided in the World Health Organization (WHO) Disease Outbreak News (DON).
- Footnote 10
-
Saudi Arabia: cumulative case count and deaths due to MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia reflect retrospective updates provided in the WHO DON.
- Footnote *
-
Based on available human case data since 2022, approximately 16% of reported A(H5N1) cases have resulted in death, which is lower than the pre-2022 fatality rate which was around 50%. However, there is still a limited number of global detections overall and these estimates may change as more detections are recorded.
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