Mexico's confirmed dengue cases are about a third lower than a year ago, with Sonora hardest hit

Fewer dengue cases have been confirmed in Mexico this year than last. The health ministry's weekly dengue report for epidemiological week 43, published on November 5 with data to November 2, counts 9,456 confirmed cases in 2026. At the same point of 2025 the count stood at 14,652, so this year's figure is about 35% lower, by our calculation. Confirmed deaths number 33, against 48 a year earlier. For the whole of 2025, the ministry recorded 22,382 confirmed cases and 214 deaths.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reviewed its global dengue travel health notice on November 10. It is at Level 1, “Practice Usual Precautions”, the lowest of CDC's four levels. The notice lists 15 countries that, in CDC's words, “are reporting higher than usual numbers of cases, or CDC has identified a higher-than-expected number of dengue cases among U.S. travelers returning from those countries.” Cuba, Panama and Colombia are on the list; Mexico is not. CDC adds that “Not all countries with dengue transmission are on this list.”

Where the cases are

Five states account for 63% of Mexico's confirmed cases, the ministry says: Sonora, Veracruz, Tabasco, Sinaloa and Quintana Roo. Sonora also has the highest rate, 73.00 confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Baja California Sur with 58.15. Mexico City and Tlaxcala have confirmed none.

The pattern has moved since last year. Sonora's count has risen from 1,638 at week 43 of 2025 to 2,313, Quintana Roo's from 223 to 570 and Aguascalientes's from 49 to 544. At this point last year Veracruz had the highest count and Jalisco the second-highest, by our ranking of the report's table; Jalisco's has dropped from 1,914 to 264, and Veracruz's from 2,257 to 1,435.

Durango

Our home state has 11 confirmed cases this year, against eight at the same week of 2025, and no deaths. Its rate of 0.57 per 100,000 inhabitants is among the lowest in the country: by our count of the report's table, only five states and Mexico City have a lower one. The report's page for Durango places nine of the 11 cases in the municipality of Mezquital, one in Tamazula and one in the municipality of Durango.

Severity and virus types

Of this year's confirmed cases, 4,757 were classed as non-severe dengue, 4,408 as dengue with warning signs and 291 as severe dengue. The report's table of virus types identified by real-time RT-PCR tests totals 3,294: type 3 accounts for 2,628, about four in five by our calculation, followed by type 2 with 617, type 1 with 37 and type 4 with 12. The report notes that deaths are added when a national committee confirms them, so they are not counted in the week they occurred.

CDC says dengue is spread by mosquito bites and that “Severe dengue is a medical emergency, usually requiring hospitalization.” For travelers to risk areas, its notice recommends an EPA-registered insect repellent, long sleeves and long pants outdoors, and sleeping in an air-conditioned or screened room, and it adds that “Travelers should practice prevention measures for all areas with a risk of dengue.” The health ministry updates its dengue report every week. Official advice for a traveler's own health or trip comes from CDC, Mexico's health ministry or the health authority of the traveler's own country.