Measles Outbreak in Mexico Threatens WHO Certification

Mexico — Mexico could lose its certification as a measles-free country granted by the World Health Organization as February marks one year since the first outbreak emerged. According to the Daily Report on the Measles Outbreak in Mexico, the country currently has 7,131 confirmed cases.

Samantha Gaerther Barnard, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Program at the National Center for Child and Adolescent Health of the Ministry of Health, admitted that this is a “historic figure” that had not been reached before. However, she noted that only 5% of these cases remain active.

Scenario Could Have Been Worse Without Vaccination: Gaerther Barnard

Mentioning that 11 million vaccines have been administered against the virus out of the 18 million available in the country, Gaerther Barnard warned that the scenario would be much worse without population inoculation. It is worth noting that, according to epidemiologist Rodrigo Romero, the outbreak that began in February 2025 in Chihuahua could be a consequence of the notable decrease in vaccine application recorded between 2006 and 2024.

The study Nineteen-Year Evidence on Measles–Mumps–Rubella Immunization in Mexico: Programmatic Lessons and Policy Implications, published in 2025, explains that during those years, 22.5 million doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine were not administered, equivalent to 25% of the population. According to Romero, this affected “herd immunity,” as failing to meet the minimum coverage of 95%, established by WHO and PAHO, increased the risk of an outbreak.

However, one of the major obstacles to vaccine application has been the low perception of risk among the population. Gaerther Barnard pointed out that convincing people has been difficult. “People said they did not recognize measles, they see a rash, they get a fever, but we did not see the complications,” she said.

Actions to Take in 2026

During her participation in the conference “Evaluating the Megacenter of Vaccination,” organized by UNAM, Gaerther Barnard announced that the Ministry of Health plans to apply second doses in children under five years old throughout 2026. She also explained that national vaccination weeks will be resumed, with three scheduled this year. Additionally, the creation of a megacenter to contain outbreaks is being evaluated.

For his part, Gustavo Olaiz Fernández, general director of Health Care at UNAM, explained that the vaccination megacenter installed in November next to the University Olympic Stadium “exceeded expectations,” as they even received people from other states who came to receive the vaccine. “We are going to repeat this, we have to put it in other places, we have to make it effective in other sites,” he said.