Spanish
Panama.- Measles is once again positioning itself as a health threat in the Latin American region, which has activated preventive measures in Panama due to the risk of imported cases amid the increase in international mobility.
Although the country has not recorded any infections since 1995, the health authorities maintain permanent epidemiological surveillance and reinforce vaccination as the main barrier to prevent the reintroduction of the virus.
In that context, the Ministry of Health has administered more than 7 million doses of the measles vaccine, a strategy that seeks to maintain collective immunity in a population of nearly 4 million inhabitants.
The national plan is developed in response to the regional alert issued by international organizations due to the increase in cases on the continent, a phenomenon associated with the decrease in vaccination coverage, cross-border mobility, and localized outbreaks in several countries.
Panama has intensified actions such as in-house and out-of-house vaccination, campaigns in airports, ports and shopping centers, as well as the immunization of personnel working at points of contact with travelers, with the aim of reducing the risk of introducing the virus.
Among the highlighted measures is the free offer of the measles vaccine to people requesting the International Vaccination Certificate, generally associated with immunization against yellow fever.
This strategy seeks to protect travelers who travel to destinations with active virus circulation, especially in the context of the 2026 World Cup, an event that will increase mobility to countries with recent reports of infections.
At a regional level, the resurgence of measles is linked to outbreaks recorded in North and Latin American countries, where the reduction in vaccination coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic created immunity gaps.
Recent cases detected in Costa Rica demonstrate the persistence of risk in Central America and the possibility of transmission through travelers, a situation that keeps the health authorities of the region on alert.
In the global scenario, measles continues to be one of the most contagious infectious diseases, with estimates exceeding 9 million cases and more than 120 thousand deaths in 2025, mainly in regions with vulnerable health systems.
