Quintana Roo Accounts for 70% of Mexico’s Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Cases

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Quintana Roo remains the state with the highest incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Mexico, accounting for 308 of the 440 confirmed cases nationwide — 70% of the total, according to the latest data from the Special Epidemiological Surveillance System, updated Aug. 26.

Five of the 17 new cases reported across the country last week were in Quintana Roo, keeping the state in first place nationally, well ahead of Tabasco, Yucatan and Campeche.

The number of cases has grown sharply compared with the same period in 2025, when the state had recorded just 54. This year’s total of 308 represents an increase of 254 cases, reflecting a significant expansion of the parasitic disease.

Of this year’s cases in the state, 278 have been in men and 30 in women. Nine out of 10 patients are male, health officials said, likely because of greater occupational exposure to the vector in jungle, sugarcane and high-humidity areas.

Héctor González, director of health in Benito Juárez, said the disease is endemic in Quintana Roo, which concentrates the majority of cases reported nationally.

“It is transmitted by a small insect similar to a mosquito, and this year it has seen a rebound compared with the same period in 2025,” he said. “There is no vaccine or specific preventive mechanism, so the main measure is to avoid bites and control the vector through cleaning, sanitation, elimination of standing water and other vector-control actions.”

González added that the disease is generally not fatal, though complications can occur in rare cases. He noted that Quintana Roo is an endemic zone, so the disease can follow cycles of increase and decrease. Prevention and sanitation are key to reducing risk.

In a related health matter, Quintana Roo ranks third nationally for mpox, with 13 confirmed cases. Only Mexico City, with 27, and Yucatan, with 24, have more. The state’s Health Department has kept epidemiological monitoring active in response to the increase.