Baja California Sur has gone more than 70 days without a new measles case, state Health Secretary Ana Luisa Guluarte Castro announced. The state has administered over 101,000 measles vaccine doses in 2026 to residents aged six months to 49 years, a campaign officials credit for keeping the peninsula safe during Mexico’s worst measles outbreak in decades.
Nationally, measles has tallied nearly 18,000 cumulative cases and 41 deaths across other Mexican states in 2026. None of those deaths have occurred in BCS. The epicenter of the outbreak remains in central Mexico, with Jalisco alone accounting for roughly 1,600 cases.
Nursing Brigades Target High-Density Neighborhoods
Guluarte Castro credited nursing brigades that have conducted door-to-door outreach in high-density neighborhoods across La Paz, Los Cabos, and other population centers. These mobile teams have focused on reaching residents who may not visit clinics regularly, including children under five and adults who missed childhood vaccinations.
BCS did briefly lose its “zero case” status earlier in 2026, with at least one confirmed case reported in February. The state has since returned to a clean streak of more than 70 consecutive days with no new infections, according to the state government’s latest update.
National Outbreak Provides Stark Contrast
The contrast with the rest of Mexico is sharp. Neighboring Baja California, to the north, confirmed at least six measles cases in late 2025, prompting mass vaccination clinics in Mexicali, Tijuana, and Ensenada. BCS has avoided that level of spread, which officials attribute to the sustained pace of vaccinations: 101,000 doses across a state with a population of roughly 800,000.
The CDC and California’s Department of Public Health have also issued travel advisories urging anyone headed to Mexico to verify their MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination status before departure. Measles is highly contagious and spreads through respiratory droplets.
Dengue Prevention Now Takes Priority
With the measles campaign holding steady, BCS health authorities are shifting attention to dengue prevention ahead of the 2026 Pacific hurricane and tropical cyclone season. Officials are deploying larvicide treatments across 649,000 homes statewide and rolling out the Wolbachia mosquito-control method in Los Cabos. Wolbachia involves releasing mosquitoes carrying a natural bacterium that reduces their ability to transmit dengue and other viruses.
The state government published the vaccination and dengue prevention update on its official website, bcs.gob.mx.