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The state of Jalisco has declared a health alert as Mexico‘s worst measles outbreak in decades tightens its grip on the capital, Guadalajara. And it’s bad timing, with just four months to go before the city welcomes tens of thousands of international soccer fans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
According to Mexico’s federal government, Jalisco has recorded 1,163 confirmed measles cases so far in 2026, along with more than 2,000 suspected cases. The state accounts for the bulk of the country’s total, which the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) pegged at 1,981 confirmed and over 5,200 suspected cases as of early February.
The outbreak traces back to 2025, when a child from a Mennonite community in the northern state of Chihuahua contracted the virus while visiting family in Texas during an active outbreak there. The disease then spread rapidly through Mennonite communities, where vaccine hesitancy runs high, before reaching the broader population in what has become Mexico’s largest measles event in more than 30 years.
Schools Shut Down, Masks Mandated
On February 5, Jalisco’s health authorities ordered face masks to be worn in schools across seven neighborhoods in Guadalajara for a minimum of 30 days. The directive makes Jalisco the first Mexican state to impose a public health mandate of this kind since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fifteen schools in Jalisco and the central state of Aguascalientes have already suspended in-person classes due to localized outbreaks. Schools in Zapopan, Atlacomulco, Tlaquepaque, and Tonalá all reported sharp increases in January.
In response, the Jalisco Ministry of Health, the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), and other providers have ramped up a mass vaccination campaign across the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. The effort includes house-to-house healthcare brigades, 670 fixed vaccination centers statewide, and 40 mobile units stationed in high-traffic public spaces. By mid-January, the campaign was delivering up to 12,000 doses per day.
A Continental Problem, a Global Event
The timing is particularly concerning. Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron, home to Chivas of Liga MX, is set to host four group-stage matches beginning June 11, including Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18 and a high-profile Uruguay vs. Spain fixture on June 26. The city is expected to draw large international crowds to a region already under heavy epidemiological strain.
With the World Cup bringing visitors from dozens of countries to the three co-host nations, all of which are dealing with rising case counts, the risk of introducing new chains of transmission is real.
Canada lost its measles-free status in November 2025. Both the U.S. and Mexico now face the same prospect and have requested a two-month extension from global health authorities to bring their outbreaks under control. That request comes at a complicated moment after President Donald J. Trump took the US out of the World Health Organization in January, the parent body of PAHO.
What Expats and Travelers Should Know
PAHO reported that in the first three weeks of 2026 alone, 1,031 new measles cases were confirmed across seven countries in the Americas with no reported deaths. That figure is 43 times higher than the same period last year.
Mexico’s federal government has set up vaccination stations in airports and bus terminals across the country and continues to urge residents and visitors alike to ensure they have received both doses of the MMR vaccine. Measles is preventable with two doses, but declining vaccination rates across the hemisphere have allowed the disease to regain a foothold in communities that were once considered protected.
For expats living in Mexico and those planning to travel for the World Cup, checking immunization records and consulting a healthcare provider before June would be a wise precaution.