<\/p>\n
The warning, issued by the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), highlights concern that the combination of growing measles transmission and large\u2011scale population movement could accelerate the spread of the disease during the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For the first time, the World Cup will be hosted across three countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States, raising the scale of cross-border travel and public health risk management.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Health authorities say measles cases are rising globally and regionally. More than 184 000 cases had been reported in 155 countries by mid-May, with nearly half confirmed. The Americas account for 19% of global cases, placing the region among those most affected alongside Africa.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Within the Americas, 20 521 cases and 25 deaths were confirmed across 16 countries and one territory by mid-May, roughly four times higher than the 5 123 cases recorded during the same period in 2025 and already exceeding the total caseload for that year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mexico has reported the largest number of cases at 10 920, followed by Guatemala with 6 209. The United States has recorded 1 952 cases, while Canada has reported 1 018. Several other countries, including Bolivia, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Uruguay, have also reported cases linked to outbreaks or imported infections.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Health officials say most cases have occurred among people who were either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In response, PAHO has called on authorities to strengthen surveillance systems, particularly in high-risk areas such as airports, ports and border regions. Countries are also being urged to improve case detection, ensure rapid investigation of suspected infections and maintain trained rapid response teams.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The organisation has also issued guidance for travellers, recommending that individuals aged six months and older who cannot show proof of vaccination receive a measles-rubella vaccine dose at least two weeks before travel to affected areas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Travellers are also being advised to monitor symptoms such as fever, rash, cough, runny nose, red eyes and swollen lymph nodes. Anyone who develops symptoms should seek immediate medical care, wear a mask, avoid close contact with others and stay away from public spaces for at least seven days to reduce transmission risk.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Upon returning home, travellers are encouraged to inform healthcare providers about recent travel to help strengthen disease tracking and containment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The alert underscores growing concern about infectious disease risks during mass gatherings, where high volumes of travel and dense crowds create pathways for rapid transmission across borders.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Public health officials say proactive vaccination and stronger surveillance will be critical to limiting the spread of measles during the World Cup period and beyond.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36248,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-36247","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Countries across the Americas have been urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination efforts as rising infection rates coincide with increased international travel ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.","published_date":"","news_description":"Countries across the Americas have been urged to strengthen measles surveillance and vaccination efforts as rising infection rates coincide with increased international travel ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36249,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/36247\/revisions\/36249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=36247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}