The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a United Nations agency, has released a new report warning of an increase in measles cases across the region.
The organization issued an epidemiological alert on Wednesday calling on member states to step up “routine surveillance and vaccination activities” to combat the spread of the disease.
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“The rapid increase in measles cases in the Americas region in 2025 and early 2026 is a red flag that requires immediate and coordinated action by member states,” PAHO said in a statement.
Overall, in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, PAHO recorded 1,031 measles cases in the Americas. Throughout 2025, a total of 14,891 cases were confirmed.
Some of the largest outbreaks cited by PAHO have occurred in North America, with countries such as the United States, Mexico and Canada facing large numbers of cases.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that can infect 9 out of 10 people exposed to it if they are not vaccinated.
In most cases, symptoms of the disease resolve within a few weeks. However, measles can be fatal or cause life-altering health complications, especially for young children.
Some patients have ear infections or lung inflammation. Some people experience pneumonia or encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain that can cause permanent damage such as seizures and memory loss.
The only way to prevent measles and stop its spread is through vaccination. Treatment is often through a combination vaccine known as MMR, an acronym for measles, mumps and rubella.
Doctors usually advise patients to get vaccinated early. For healthy children, the general guidance is to receive the first MMR dose by 15 months of age. The second and final vaccination is recommended by age 6.
The MMR vaccine is widely considered safe. But in countries like the United States, vaccination rates have declined in recent years due to conspiracy theories and misleading statements.
For example, the country’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., previously claimed that vaccines “lose effectiveness very quickly,” despite the fact that they provide lifelong protection.
President Kennedy also asserted that there are health risks associated with vaccines. But experts, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), have repeatedly maintained that most people do not experience serious problems and that the vaccine is much safer than exposure to measles itself.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America says on its website that “no deaths have been found to be associated with the MMR vaccine in healthy people.”
High numbers in North America
There were 171 new measles cases in the United States in the first three weeks of 2026, for a total of 2,242 measles cases in 2025, according to PAHO’s Wednesday report.
One of the ongoing outbreaks is in South Carolina, where 876 measles outbreaks have been reported in recent months. Of these, 800 patients were unvaccinated, 16 were only partially vaccinated, and 38 had unknown vaccination status.
Meanwhile, in Texas, there were 762 measles cases between January and August. The outbreak killed two unvaccinated children and hospitalized 99 people.
In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States, indicating that it was no longer spreading domestically, although some cases occurred after exposure to measles abroad.
Mexico also achieved measles eradication in 1996 after a large-scale vaccination campaign. In 2016, the entire Americas was declared measles-free.
However, both the United States and Mexico are at risk of having their measles exclusion status revoked due to ongoing outbreaks.
For example, Mexico will have 6,428 measles cases in 2025, more than any other country in the Americas. In the first three weeks of 2026, the number of infections increased by 740.
PAHO typically decides which countries have exclusion status, and PAHO has indicated it will consider the situation in the United States and Mexico at a virtual meeting on April 13.
Meanwhile, measles exclusion status was already revoked in Canada in November. Since October 2024, several measles outbreaks have occurred.
According to PAHO research, there were 5,436 measles cases last year, and 67 in the first three weeks of 2026.
The country can only regain measles elimination status if it stops transmitting measles from an outbreak for at least one year.
