Epidemic hazard

BEACON thanks a member of the EPICORE network for responding to our RFI and for providing additional context for this report. We have issued an updated report here: https://beaconbio.org/en/report/?eventid=a05ba411-1e3d-42fe-8038-a413da62a8fa&reportid=799bd15d-2a83-42e9-a50f-2b08d49d0f09 The key findings are: As of epidemiological week 28 of 2026, Panama's Ministry of Health (Minsa) confirmed 13 RSV-associated deaths year-to-date. Eight of the 13 deceased were under two years of age, including one infant aged 42 days; two deaths occurred in babies under six months old; eight were male (61.5%) and five were female (38.5%). Nine of the 13 deaths (69.2%) were concentrated in epidemiological weeks 23–28, with the single highest weekly toll of three deaths recorded in week 27. Geographic distribution of deaths spans multiple provinces: Ngäbe Buglé accounted for 30.8% of fatalities, followed by Bocas del Toro and Chiriquí (23.1% each), with Coclé, the Metropolitan region, and Panamá Oeste each recording 7.7%. Panama Ministry of Health (Minsa) Epidemiology Department confirmed RSV circulation is above the epidemiological alert threshold; approximately 45% of respiratory hospitalizations in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital del Niño Dr. José Renán Esquivel are attributed to RSV. In response, Minsa announced the progressive rollout of an RSV monoclonal antibody for newborns whose mothers did not receive the maternal RSV vaccine during pregnancy, planned to begin at the end of Aug 2026 in maternity wards of public health facilities, alongside the existing maternal vaccination programme (weeks 30–36 of gestation) initiated in 2025.