Mexico City has joined a growing list of states reporting deaths linked to measles, with the confirmation of its first fatality from 2025, according to a recent report from the Ministry of Health released on February 9.
Nationwide, Mexico has recorded a total of 28 measles deaths between 2025 and 2026, spread across seven states. Chihuahua accounts for the majority of these fatalities, with 21 cases, followed by Jalisco (2); Sonora, Durango, Michoacán, Tlaxcala and Mexico City, each reporting one death.
The epidemiological report indicates that measles continues to disproportionately impact young children. The age group with the highest number of confirmed cases is 1 to 4 years old, with 1,327 infections. This underscores the vulnerability of this age group to the virus and the importance of vaccination efforts.
Children aged 5 to 9 years represent the second-highest group with 1,088 cases. Interestingly, the 25 to 29 year old age group ranks third, with 963 cases, demonstrating that measles can similarly affect young adults.
In terms of incidence rates, children under one year of age have the highest rate in the country: 50.41 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The 1 to 4 year old and 5 to 9 year old groups follow with rates of 15.48 and 10.28, respectively.
Measles Cases in Mexico: Current Numbers
Measles infections are on the rise, with 324 cases confirmed in a 72-hour period (from February 6 to February 9), bringing the total for 2026 to 2,567 cases. From 2025 to 2026, a cumulative total of 8,899 cases have been recorded.
The outbreak has prompted authorities in the State of Mexico and Jalisco to mandate mask-wearing in schools as a measure to contain the spread of the virus, alongside intensified vaccination efforts for individuals under 49 years of age.
In Mexico City, Mayor Clara Brugada announced a mass vaccination campaign on February 8, with 40 designated locations, including Bellas Artes and the Angel of Independence. However, a visit to these locations by our editorial team revealed that immunization centers had not yet been established at either site.
These figures confirm that measles remains active in the country and reinforce the importance of vaccination and epidemiological surveillance, particularly among vulnerable populations.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum affirmed on February 10 that the government will strengthen measles vaccination efforts in response to increasing infections in several states, particularly in Jalisco.
“Remember that unlike COVID, there is a vaccine, and You’ll see enough vaccines. The significant thing is to vaccinate where outbreaks occur, as is done with epidemiological measures around where the outbreak occurs, and at the same time, certain ages that can be vaccinated,” the president stated during her morning press conference.
She added that the Mexican government will announce a reinforcement of the strategy and the necessary information for the population “so they know where to get vaccinated, how to get vaccinated, and what ages should be vaccinated.”
Measles in Durango: Death of a Young Farmworker
An eight-year-old boy who was already working as a farmworker alongside his family died in Durango due to complications from measles, amid an unusual acceleration of infections registered during the first weeks of 2026.
This is the first confirmed death in the state from the disease in 2026 and the second considering last year.
The state’s Secretary of Health, Moisés Nájera Torres, confirmed the information and detailed that the boy, originally from the municipality of El Mezquital, was transferred to the Maternal and Child Hospital in critical condition after experiencing several days of fever. He had previously been treated at Hospital 450.
According to health authorities, the infection likely occurred during family travel for work to the state of Sinaloa, again highlighting work-related mobility as a key factor in the spread of the virus.
The boy’s death in 2026 adds to the first measles death recorded in Durango during 2025, when an 18-year-old woman died in the municipality of Mapimí, one of the areas most affected by the outbreak that year. According to health reports, that case occurred in a context of high labor mobility and a lack of vaccination schedules, especially among agricultural workers, placing Durango among the states with the highest incidence of the virus nationally during that period.
With information from Fernando Merino, Martha Casas and EFE
