Regional Health Emergencies and Disasters

Brydyak/Freepik
black flying foxes hanging

Nipah virus infection

On 3 February 2026, the International Health Regulations National Focal Point (IHR NFP) for Bangladesh notified WHO of one confirmed case of Nipah virus (NiV) infection in Rajshahi Division. The patient developed fever and neurological symptoms on 21 January. Nipah virus infection was laboratory-confirmed on 29 January. The patient reported no travel history but had a history of consuming raw date palm sap. All 35 contact-persons are being monitored and have tested negative for NiV and no further cases have been detected to date. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in Bangladesh has implemented several public health measures.

Nipah virus infection - Bangladesh

DMC Sri Lanka
People moving in Water logged area

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.

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

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

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.

SEAR Epi bulletin, 3rd edition 2026, 11 Feb 2026, (Reporting: 26 Jan - 08 Feb)

Earlier bulletins

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.

WHO supports countries to mitigate COVID-19 spread in the Region

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.

Highlights

ProTECt, project on training for public health emergency operation centers

25 June 2024, Sri Lanka undergoes capacity building under the @WHO and @rki_de ProTECt country specific package to strengthen Health Emergency Operations Centres (HEOC) in an ongoing effort to build better preparedness, readiness and response under the IHR (2005) @MoH_SriLanka

What We Do

WHO Health Emergencies

South-East Asia Region

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WHO/Ploy Phutpheng
Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases - Health Science Centre/ WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Viral Zoonoses