Yellow fever in the Americas: Nearly 3/4 of cases reported from Colombia
From January 1 through February 21, 2026, 34 confirmed human cases of yellow fever were reported in four countries in the Americas Region, including 15 deaths.
Leading in both cases and deaths is Colombia with 25 cases and 13 deaths, accounting for 73 percent and 87 percent of the total cases and deaths, respectively.
In addition to Colombia, cases were reported in Bolivia (one death), Peru (n= 2 cases), and Venezuela (n= 6 cases, including one death).
In 2025, a total of 346 confirmed yellow fever cases and 143 deaths were reported across seven countries in the Region: Bolivia (8 cases, 2 deaths), Brazil (120 cases, 48 deaths), Colombia (125 cases, 46 deaths), Ecuador (11 cases, 8 deaths), Guyana (1 death), Peru (49 cases, 19 deaths), and Venezuela (32 cases, 19 deaths).
Yellow fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease that can cause severe illness with a high fatality rate. There is no specific treatment, but vaccination is the most effective measure to prevent the disease. A single dose of the vaccine provides lifelong protection.
Subscribe to Outbreak News TV on YouTube
Most confirmed cases in 2025 and 2026 were reported in people who were not vaccinated.
Regional health authorities remind countries with risk areas to maintain vaccination coverage of at least 95% among exposed populations, while also strengthening epidemiological surveillance and surveillance of epizootics in nonhuman primates —that is, the occurrence of the disease in animals— which can serve as an early signal of virus circulation, as well as strengthening mosquito control measures.