Latest news with #PanAmericanHealthOrganization
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
As measles spreads across the Americas, outbreaks in Mexico and Canada have also turned deadly
As measles cases in the United States continue to mount, neighboring countries Canada and Mexico are also experiencing significant outbreaks – all of which have been linked to at least one death. On Thursday, the chief medical officer of health of the Canadian province Ontario announced that an infant who was born prematurely with a measles infection had died. 'The infant contracted the virus before birth from their mother, who had not received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine,' Dr. Kieran Moore said in a statement. 'While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus.' At least four people have died from measles in Mexico in 2025, and three people have died in the US: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. This years' measles outbreaks are the biggest that Canada and Mexico have seen in decades, and the World Health Organization has warned that the 'overall risk of measles in the Americas Region is considered high.' Low vaccination rates are a key driver of this elevated risk assessment, the agency said. Mexico has reported at least 1,520 measles cases as of late May, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization. Canada reached measles elimination status in 1998, meaning that there has not been continuous spread of the virus for more than a year. But there have already been more cases reported so far this year than there were in the previous 27 years combined. At least 2,755 measles cases have been reported in Canada so far this year, according to federal data that was last updated on Monday, the vast majority of those which have been in Ontario residents. And the US has reported at least 1,168 measles cases so far this year, according to federal data published Friday – nearly 80% of which are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Canada. It's the second highest number of cases that the US has reported since achieving measles elimination status in 2000. Significant shares of the measles outbreaks in the US, Canada and Mexico have been concentrated in Mennonite communities that are closely connected to each other – and that have historically had low vaccination rates due largely to minimal interactions with formal health care systems. However, in a recent webinar, experts from the Pan American Health Organization did not formally link outbreaks in the three countries to each other. 'The outbreak [in Mexico] started in Chihuahua, at the heart of Mennonite communities, who were very close to Texas through the border, but they're also close to other Mennonite communities in Canada,' Dr. Alvaro Whittembury, regional adviser for the Comprehensive Immunization Special Program, said in a presentation on Wednesday. 'It's important to show that although at first the outbreak starts in Mennonite communities … the vast majority of cases are outside of these communities, and they are sustained in the general population.' Only a small share of confirmed cases in the Americas have identified genetic sequences, experts from the Pan American Health Organization said, and there haven't been enough identical sequences to explicitly link cases across countries. In April, Mexico issued a warning for people traveling to the US and Canada due to high measles case rates. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also stepped up its guidance for travelers, advising that anyone traveling internationally should be vaccinated with two doses of the MMR vaccine. 'Anyone who is unvaccinated is at risk and I urge everyone, but especially those who may become pregnant, to ensure they have received two doses of the MMR vaccine, which will protect both a parent and baby,' Moore said in his statement Thursday. 'This vaccine has been safely used for over 50 years and is highly effective. Two doses provide nearly 100 per cent protection.'
CNN
3 days ago
- Health
- CNN
As measles spreads across the Americas, outbreaks in Mexico and Canada have also turned deadly
As measles cases in the United States continue to mount, neighboring countries Canada and Mexico are also experiencing significant outbreaks – all of which have been linked to at least one death. On Thursday, the chief medical officer of health of the Canadian province Ontario announced that an infant who was born prematurely with a measles infection had died. 'The infant contracted the virus before birth from their mother, who had not received the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine,' Dr. Kieran Moore said in a statement. 'While measles may have been a contributing factor in both the premature birth and death, the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus.' At least four people have died from measles in Mexico in 2025, and three people have died in the US: two children in Texas and one adult in New Mexico, all of whom were unvaccinated. This years' measles outbreaks are the biggest that Canada and Mexico have seen in decades, and the World Health Organization has warned that the 'overall risk of measles in the Americas Region is considered high.' Low vaccination rates are a key driver of this elevated risk assessment, the agency said. Mexico has reported at least 1,520 measles cases as of late May, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization. Canada reached measles elimination status in 1998, meaning that there has not been continuous spread of the virus for more than a year. But there have already been more cases reported so far this year than there were in the previous 27 years combined. At least 2,755 measles cases have been reported in Canada so far this year, according to federal data that was last updated on Monday, the vast majority of those which have been in Ontario residents. And the US has reported at least 1,168 measles cases so far this year, according to federal data published Friday – nearly 80% of which are associated with an outbreak centered in West Texas that has spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma and possibly Canada. It's the second highest number of cases that the US has reported since achieving measles elimination status in 2000. Significant shares of the measles outbreaks in the US, Canada and Mexico have been concentrated in Mennonite communities that are closely connected to each other – and that have historically had low vaccination rates due largely to minimal interactions with formal health care systems. However, in a recent webinar, experts from the Pan American Health Organization did not formally link outbreaks in the three countries to each other. 'The outbreak [in Mexico] started in Chihuahua, at the heart of Mennonite communities, who were very close to Texas through the border, but they're also close to other Mennonite communities in Canada,' Dr. Alvaro Whittembury, regional adviser for the Comprehensive Immunization Special Program, said in a presentation on Wednesday. 'It's important to show that although at first the outbreak starts in Mennonite communities … the vast majority of cases are outside of these communities, and they are sustained in the general population.' Only a small share of confirmed cases in the Americas have identified genetic sequences, experts from the Pan American Health Organization said, and there haven't been enough identical sequences to explicitly link cases across countries. In April, Mexico issued a warning for people traveling to the US and Canada due to high measles case rates. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also stepped up its guidance for travelers, advising that anyone traveling internationally should be vaccinated with two doses of the MMR vaccine. 'Anyone who is unvaccinated is at risk and I urge everyone, but especially those who may become pregnant, to ensure they have received two doses of the MMR vaccine, which will protect both a parent and baby,' Moore said in his statement Thursday. 'This vaccine has been safely used for over 50 years and is highly effective. Two doses provide nearly 100 per cent protection.'
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Experts alarmed by sweeping changes upending life across remote communities: 'We have to adapt to a new reality'
As Greenland's sea ice disappears and temperatures spike, Inuit communities are confronting a crisis that threatens both the environment and their way of life. From hunting traditions to food security and mental health, the slow melt of the Arctic is triggering rapid, destabilizing effects that reach far beyond the ice. According to a recent article in Inside Climate News, Greenland is warming nearly four times faster than the global average. Since 2002, the Greenland Ice Sheet has lost about 297 billion tons of ice annually. The sea ice that once provided stable ground for hunting and transportation is becoming unreliable or vanishing entirely. For Inuit residents, this means the loss of income, food sources, and ancestral practices deeply tied to the land and its seasons. "Reality is different now," said Nikkulaat Jeremiassen, chairman of Greenland's Fishermen and Hunters Association, per the article. "We have to adapt to a new reality." Greenland has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, with around 40 to 60 deaths by suicide each year in a population of just 56,000. Experts note that the effects of the changing climate — such as disrupted traditions, food insecurity, and rapid cultural shifts — are adding new stressors to already vulnerable communities. A 2024 study found that the changing climate contributes to rising anxiety and emotional distress, especially among young people. In many towns, mental health care is limited or inaccessible, leaving residents to cope with these growing challenges largely on their own. Though it may seem distant, Arctic ice melt has both global and local consequences. Melting ice contributes to sea level rise, leading to higher tides and worsened flooding in coastal cities during extreme storms. It also disrupts global ocean currents and weather patterns. Closer to home, less sea ice alters the migration of marine species, weakening local food systems. Warmer, wetter Arctic conditions are also linked to the spread of zoonotic diseases, posing emerging health risks to people worldwide. While extreme weather events have always occurred, scientists are clear: Human-driven changes to the climate are making them more intense and more frequent. As gas pollution warms the atmosphere and oceans, storms become stronger, floods more destructive, and seasonal weather patterns increasingly erratic. Across the globe, organizations are working to help communities withstand and adapt to extreme weather. The Pan American Health Organization is working to develop climate-resilient health systems, while the U.S. Forest Service is investing $265 million to protect forests that buffer communities from climate disasters. Clean energy coalitions like Greenlight America are reducing pollution and building infrastructure better equipped to handle future shocks. On the local level, you can start by learning more about the most urgent climate challenges and how to take meaningful action. Every day choices can build momentum toward a more resilient future. The more we understand the systems driving changes to the climate — and the solutions already within reach — the better prepared we are to protect our communities and our health. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What would a world without mosquitoes look like?
In 1958, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) made a milestone announcement: they had exterminated the mosquito Aedes aegypti–a transmitter of the deadly diseases dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever–from Brazil. This represented the culmination of decades of work. In the 1930s, an ambitious inspection regime removed any sources of stagnant water–key mosquito breeding grounds–in areas where A. aegypti had been detected. Authorities eased this onerous system in the years after World War II as they found success in wiping out mosquitoes with a new weapon: the insecticide DDT. PAHO didn't stop at the Brazilian border; by the mid-1970s, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Paraguay were among nine South and Central American countries to have eradicated A. aegypti. This had significant epidemiological impacts: dengue and other conditions virtually disappeared from the DDT-soaked countries, and the specter of these conditions retreated from the continent. Unfortunately, the story was far from over. Mosquito control efforts failed to account for how persistent A. aegypti could be. It was never eradicated from Columbia or Guyuna. Within just a few decades of PAHO's declaration, dengue re-emerged. Worse still, DDT, PAHO's bug spray of choice, was revealed to have horrific effects on biodiversity in sprayed environments. Public sentiment turned against this indiscriminate tool after the publication of books like Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Fast-forward to today. Last year was one of the worst on record for dengue in South America in the face of a resurgent A. aegypti. New mosquito-borne diseases like Zika have emerged. The dream of a pest-free South America is further away than ever. However, the goal of squashing mosquito-borne diseases is still paramount for Scott O'Neill, CEO of the World Mosquito Program, a network of companies spun out of Monash University. O'Neill explains that his program aims not to suppress mosquitoes but to help them fight the viruses that infect them and turn them into disease vectors. The WMP's approach involves the symbiotic bacterium Wolbachia. 'Around 50 percent of all insects naturally have Wolbachia,' explains O'Neill. The bacterium cannot survive outside hosts' bodies and infects many organs in A. aegypti. The WMP breeds huge populations of mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia and releases them into the environment. Inside A. aegypti mosquitoes, disease-causing viruses also exploit their hosts' cells to reproduce. O'Neill aims to create a population of mosquitoes in which these viruses have to compete with Wolbachia. Fighting Wolbachia inside an insect is like trying to arm wrestle a polar bear in a Siberian snowstorm. The bacterium has developed various ingenious tools to make itself the dominant symbiote. O'Neill explains that it alters the lipid profile inside mosquitoes' cells, making it harder for them to reproduce. It even boosts the antiviral responses of the A. aegypti immune system, helping the mosquito fight off its competitors. [Related: ] No further intervention is needed after the initial injection of Wolbachia-infected insects. Over time, Wolbachia will naturally spread through the mosquito population and the number of bugs that can become infected with viruses declines. WMP say this approach has slashed rates of dengue in Australia and Columbia. In a controlled trial in Indonesia, the technique reduced virologically confirmed dengue by 77 percent. If A. aegypti was somehow wiped from existence, it wouldn't significantly harm the ecosystems it lives in, says O'Neill. That's because it largely ignores environments where other animals live, unlike other species of mosquitoes that are food sources for frogs and fish. 'It lives in cities, and it's exquisitely adapted to biting humans,' says O'Neill. Some scientists suggest that if every mosquito species were to disappear, there would be significant impacts on bird populations. However, this is contested by other researchers who say they aren't an irreplaceable part of these birds' diet. Some mosquitoes are pollinators, although very few plant species are only pollinated by mosquitoes. In short, the loss of all mosquito species would be felt by ecosystems, but to a much lesser extent than the loss of vital pollinators like the honey bee. Our efforts to remove even one ecologically unimportant mosquito species have fallen short for now. O'Neill says that entomologists call A. aegypti the 'cockroach of the mosquito world' for good reason, and its tenacity and widespread range mean that we are unlikely to see a world without this buzzing pest any time soon. This story is part of Popular Science's Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something you've always wanted to know? Ask us.
Boston Globe
01-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Measles jumps borders in North America with outbreaks in Canada, Mexico, and US
'Diseases know no borders,' said Ocaranza, El Paso's top public health doctor, 'so as people are mobile, they're going to be coming and receiving medical attention in El Paso but they may be living in Juarez.' It took a couple of months, but El Paso now has the highest measles case count in the state outside of West Texas with 38. Neighboring Ciudad Juarez has 14 cases as of Monday. North America's three biggest measles outbreaks continue to balloon, with more than 2,500 known cases; three people have died in the United States and one in Mexico. It started in the fall in Ontario, Canada; then took off in late January in Texas and New Mexico, and has rapidly spread in Chihuahua state, which is up to 786 cases since mid-February. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up These outbreaks are in areas with a notable population of certain Mennonite Christian communities who trace their migration over generations from Canada to Mexico to Seminole, Texas. Chihuahua health officials trace their first case to an 8-year-old Mennonite child who visited family in Seminole, got sick, and spread the virus at school. And Ontario officials say their outbreak started at a large gathering in New Brunswick involving Mennonite communities. Advertisement Mexican and US officials also say the genetic strains of measles spreading in Canada match the other large outbreaks. Advertisement 'This virus was imported, traveling country to country,' said Leticia Ruíz, director of prevention and disease control in Chihuahua. A health worker gives a child a measles vaccine at the health center in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, on April 30. Christian Chavez/Associated Press North and South American countries have struggled to maintain the 95 percent measles vaccination rate needed to prevent outbreaks, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization. And a recent World Health Organization report said measles activity in the Americas region is up elevenfold from the same time last year and that the risk level is 'high' compared to the rest of the world's 'moderate' level. Measles cases have been confirmed in six of the region's countries — Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Mexico — and investigating the disease's spread is labor-intensive and pricey. The response to each measles case in the United States costs an estimated $30,000 to $50,000, according to Dr. David Sugerman, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist. The cases in Ciudad Juarez have no direct connection to the Mennonite settlement in Chihuahua, said Rogelio Covarrubias, a health official in the border city. The first measles case in El Paso was in a child at Fort Bliss, Ocaranza said. More than half of El Paso's cases are in adults, which is unusually high, and three people have been hospitalized. The health department is holding vaccination clinics in malls and parks, and says hundreds have gotten a shot. The vaccines are free — no questions asked, no matter which side of the border you live on. Communication about measles between the two health departments is 'informal' but 'very good,' Ocaranza said. Covarrubias said his team was alerted last week to a case of someone who became sick in El Paso and returned home to Juarez. Advertisement 'There is constant concern in Ciudad Juarez … because we have travelers that pass through from across the world,' Covarrubias said. 'With a possible case of measles without taking precautions, many, many people could be infected.' Michigan health officials said the outbreak of four cases in Montcalm County are linked to Ontario. The state's chief medical executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, expects to see more cases. Michigan has a 95 percent vaccination rate for measles, mumps and rubella, but it hides weak spots — counties with 70 percent vaccination rates and individual schools where just 30 percent of children vaccinated. 'If we think about measles as a forest fire, we've got these burning embers that are floating in the air right now,' Bagdasarian said. 'Whether those embers result in another wildfire just depends on where they land.' In Canada, 6 out of 10 provinces have reported measles cases. Alberta has the second-most with 83 as of April 12, according to government data. Case counts in Ontario reached 1,020 as of Wednesday, mostly in the southwest part that borders Michigan. In one of the hardest-hit regions, Chatham-Kent public health officials announced a public exposure at a Mennonite church on Easter Sunday. 'It sometimes feels like we're just behind, always trying to catch up to measles,' Dr. Sarah Wilson, a public health physician for Public Health Ontario. 'It's always moving somewhere.'
