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PAHO panel reviews measles elimination status for U.S. and Mexico
A PAHO commission is meeting this week on whether measles has circulated a year or more in the United States and Mexico; Al Jazeera said Guatemala is also under review. A decision is expected next week.
- PAHO and AP are now reporting this
- Our desk updated its story
- Stateline is now reporting this
- New headline Was: “PAHO panel reviews measles elimination status for U.S. and Mexico”
- Our desk updated its story
A Pan American Health Organization verification commission is meeting in Washington this week on whether measles has circulated long enough in several countries of the Americas to lose elimination status, Al Jazeera reported1. PAHO said in March that the United States and Mexico would be reviewed at that November meeting2.
Al Jazeera said the Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission began Tuesday and was to adjourn Friday, then advise PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa, who makes the final determination, with an announcement expected early next week1. AP also reported a closed session this week and an announcement next week3.
PAHO's March notice said the analysis window is one year from outbreak onset — 20 January 2025 in the United States and 1 February 2025 in Mexico — and defined possible re-establishment of endemic transmission as uninterrupted circulation of the same virus genotype and lineage for 12 months or more2. Al Jazeera said reported cases or deaths alone do not decide the status, and that investigators use genetic sequencing to tell linked local spread from separate introductions1.
The United States has held elimination status since 2000; Al Jazeera said Mexico and Guatemala may also lose the designation, with Peru and Bolivia at risk, and that Canada lost it last November1. AP said Mexico met elimination criteria in 2016 and that Canada lost a designation held since 1998 last year3.
Al Jazeera cited PAHO as reporting 57,666 confirmed measles cases across 17 countries and territories in the Americas from January through October 20261. AP put U.S. confirmed cases this year at more than 5,100, with measles-associated deaths, and said Mexico has reported more than 20,500 confirmed cases and 50 measles-related deaths, most in children younger than 53.
AP reported CDC Director Erica Schwartz as saying that losing the designation would not change outbreak response and that vaccination, not the label, is what protects people3. Al Jazeera quoted Pennsylvania State University's Matt Ferrari saying, "It would be a disappointment, not a shock"1. PAHO has not announced a finding1,2.
Not medical advice.
Sources
How it’s being reported
3 sourcesFirst reported by 
PAHO
Why the US, Mexico and Guatemala may lose their measles-free status
U.S., Mexico and Guatemala as countries that may lose measles-free status, plus Peru and Bolivia at risk; RVC schedule and PAHO regional case total.
Explainer on PAHO's Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission meeting in Washington this week on measles elimination status in the Americas.
Leaves out Mexico case and death totals carried by AP; CDC statement as reported by AP.
PAHOFirstUpdate on the review of measles elimination status
Review timing, analysis windows from outbreak onset, and the 12-month endemic-transmission definition.
March 2026 PAHO notice that U.S. and Mexico measles-elimination reviews would occur at the November 2026 RVC annual meeting.
Leaves out This week's meeting outcome and 2026 regional case totals.
The US and Mexico are on the verge of forfeiting a major health victory. Here's what to know
Gives this outlet’s account of the story.
Where they agree
- Al Jazeera, AP and PAHO's March notice agree a November RVC review covers U.S. and Mexico measles-elimination status, with a recommendation to PAHO's director.
Where they differ
Which countries are under review this week