Mexico has the highest number of measles cases in the Americas, with 8,411 confirmed cases as of last Wednesday. Canada follows with 5,503 cases, and the United States with 2,413, according to the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) regional report on the disease.
The report adds that in 2025, there were 32 times more cases than the previous year (14,891 versus 466), and that the disease continues to rise. In the first three weeks of 2026, with 1,031 confirmed cases, the increase is 45 times higher than that recorded during the same period last year, when there were 23 cases.
Regarding measles-related deaths, PAHO highlighted that of the 29 confirmed deaths in 2025, 24 were in Mexico, two in Canada, and three in the United States. In the report updated as of last Wednesday, there have already been 27 deaths in Mexico.
Globally, cases registered in the Americas represent 5.7 percent of the total. The Eastern Mediterranean region has the highest percentage (29.6 percent), followed by Europe (14.2 percent) and Southeast Asia (7.5 percent), according to a report from the General Directorate of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health.
The agency urged countries to strengthen their epidemiological surveillance systems and prepare for the increased movement of people expected due to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Meanwhile, at the national level, a measles outbreak was detected in agricultural fields in the Empalme Valley, Sonora, where 10 cases have been confirmed so far, eight of them in workers from Chiapas who recently arrived in the region.
The state Ministry of Health immediately activated containment measures to prevent the spread of the virus in this area of high population mobility.
The head of Epidemiology for the state, Universo Ortiz Arvayo, reported that the cases are considered imported, as the patients arrived already infected in their places of origin.
Meanwhile, in Jalisco, for 30 days starting next Monday, students, teachers, and administrative staff at schools in Guadalajara, Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, Tonalá, Tlajomulco, El Salto, and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos will be required to wear face masks as a preventative measure against the increase in infections.
With 1,113 confirmed cases so far this year, the state ranks first in the country, accounting for 58.52 percent of the total cases (1,902). It also has the highest number of probable cases with 1,875 (39.64 percent of the 4,730 patients under investigation throughout Mexico) and a rising incidence rate of 12.39, compared to the national average of just 1.42.
There are 449 active cases (diagnosed in the last 14 days), of which Tlaquepaque and Tonalá account for 50 percent. The virus has also been detected in 30 of the state’s 125 municipalities.
Yesterday, in a joint press conference, the state Secretary of Health, Héctor Raúl Pérez, and the state Secretary of Education, Juan Carlos Flores, revealed that 30 schools have been affected by measles, resulting in the suspension of in-person classes for 27 groups and four entire schools.
In Nayarit, Governor Miguel Ángel Navarro Quintero confirmed that a school in Tepic will close for 12 days to rule out a possible outbreak stemming from a trip taken by students to Guadalajara, Jalisco.
In Durango, Citlali Solís Campos, the state’s Director of Public Health, announced a 500 percent increase in positive cases this week. January ended with three infections, and in the first few days of February, the number has risen to 19, including 11 children (ages one to 11). As a result, the state Health Department, along with the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), has intensified its vaccination campaign. They are now not only maintaining vaccination stations outside shopping centers, but also sending medical personnel to residential complexes to visit each home.
Meanwhile, the head of the Puebla Health Department, Joaquín Espidio, reported that as of yesterday, 44 cases of measles had been confirmed in the state, out of a total of 159 suspected cases analyzed by the department. However, he assured that the situation remains under constant surveillance in coordination with the Ministry of Public Education.
Source: jornada
