US anti-vax stance to blame for continent-wide surge in measles, say experts
Source: The Guardian
US anti-vax stance to blame for continent-wide surge in measles, say experts
The disease was eliminated across the Americas in 2024, but urgent vaccination drives are now under way as cases rise from Mexico to Bolivia after outbreaks farther north
Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro
Fri 17 Oct 2025 12.00 BST
Last modified on Fri 17 Oct 2025 12.05 BST
Governments across Latin America are stepping up efforts to vaccinate their populations against measles, as outbreaks in North America drive a 34-fold increase in the number of cases reported in the region this year.
Measles cases have surged worldwide to a 25-year high, due to low vaccine coverage and the spread of misinformation about vaccine safety. However, there is added concern in parts of Latin America over unequal access to healthcare and the worrying situation in the US, which is facing its worst measles outbreak in decades following a reversal of vaccine policy led by Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
“The US’s political position in relation to health and vaccination is an outrage,” said Rosana Richtmann, an infectious disease doctor and coordinator of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Disease’s immunisation committee. “It’s a problem for us.”
Measles was successfully eliminated from the Americas in 2016, and then again in 2024, but the continent is now at risk of losing its measles-free status. There have been 11,668 cases reported across 10 countries in North and Latin America, according to the latest data from the Pan-American Health Organization (Paho).
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/oct/17/health-infectious-diseases-vaccination-measles-us-robert-kennedy-latin-america-antivax-blamed-cases-deaths-rise
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