Bolivia, a country centrally located in South America, has a population of roughly 12.7 million people. The nation borders other countries such as Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Its central location in the continent makes it extremely important to contain any diseases that start-up within the country. There have been multiple diseases impacting Bolivia, however, recently, Bolivia has dealt with one outbreak in particular that has caught the eye of international health organizations. There are two other diseases that health officials currently are monitoring with a standard level of caution after a reduction in cases due to health officials and organizations recent efforts.

The Main Outbreak of Focus

Currently, International Health Organizations are focusing on one main Chikungunya outbreak. In recent months, the virus has popped up in the cities of Santa Cruz, the eastern side of Bolivia, and Cochabamba, a central region. Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne and transmissible illness that causes fever and severe joint pain. Symptoms typically begin 3-7 days after an infected mosquito bites. The virus currently has no specific treatment, however, death due to the virus is rare.

The CDC currently has Bolivia’s Chikungunya outbreak listed in the Level 2 Category titled “Practice Enhanced Cautions.” Its main advice for prevention of obtaining the virus is actions necessary to avoid mosquito bites. These actions include using insect repellent, wearing long sleeved clothing and residing in places that have screens on windows and doors. Homeless individuals across the country become more vulnerable to contracting the virus as their access to housing with screens on windows and doors is more limited. Additionally, the CDC recommends the virus-like particle vaccine Vimkunya for travelers visiting chikungunya outbreak areas. Chikungunya certainly stands out as the primary focus for health officials out of the couple of diseases impacting Bolivia currently.

Global Dengue

The CDC lists two other diseases, global dengue and global measles, in the Level 1 Category titled “Practice Usual Precautions.”

Global dengue, like Chikungunya, spreads through infected mosquitoes and is a year round risk to many parts of the world. The virus usually takes up to 2 weeks to develop and causes fever, headache, nausea and vomiting. The CDC placed Bolivia in Level 1 for global dengue due to a couple reasons that include higher reported numbers of dengue than usual in the country, a higher than expected number of dengue cases among U.S. travelers returning from Bolivia and an outbreak that health officials recently mitigated. In order to prevent contracting this virus, health officials recommend avoiding mosquito bites by wearing long sleeved clothing and applying insect repellent. Global dengue popped up significantly in Bolivia in 2024 with close to 60,000 cases appearing in 2024 alone.

PAHO’s Efforts

The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) worked with Bolivian authorities to improve the quality of clinical care within the country so that doctors increased their ability to detect the virus early. This assistance from the organization became part of a multi-country program to mitigate the number of cases of dengue that popped up in countries such as Bolivia, Paraguay, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. The program started wrapping up its work in mid-2025 and the five countries involved jointly saw a 70% average reduction in new cases compared to the previous 5 years.

Global Measles

Global measles is a respiratory illness that is highly contagious. It spreads through coughing and sneezing and typical warning signs and symptoms of the illness include a red bumpy rash, a high fever and red watery eyes. The CDC recommends receiving the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Vaccine as the primary way to avoid contracting the virus. Additionally, the CDC advises the vaccination in particular to those who are traveling internationally.

The CDC placed Bolivia in Level 1 for global measles due to both the recent rise in cases in many countries across South America and a recent outbreak that happened in Bolivia itself. The measles outbreak in Bolivia started in April of 2025 eventually leading to a national emergency declaration with health officials reporting around 600 cases across the country.

Bolivia’s Vaccination Efforts

In response, Bolivia ramped up their vaccination efforts and were able to administer 1 million doses to children mostly aged 1 to 20 years old. Coverage for the vaccine expanded in response to this outbreak as 5 to 20-year-olds received the vaccine when previously coverage focused on 1 to 4-year-olds. Unfortunately, coverage for both first and second doses of the vaccine still is below the 95% threshold that helps ensure prevention of outbreaks. Doctors and helpers assisting with vaccination efforts focused on rural indigenous areas in particular as both distance and poverty posed a challenge. Local brigades went door to door while coordinating with local community leaders in order to ensure that the vaccines reach those in the communities who needed it.

The National Vaccination Registry helped assist in efforts as well by helping identify children that had incomplete vaccination schedules. Additionally, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Government of Canada worked to help Bolivia with outbreak control and quick response in order to mitigate the spread of this and other diseases.

Looking Ahead

Ultimately, diseases impacting Bolivia such as Chikungunya, Measles and Dengue have all had surges in numbers in recent years. The outbreaks brought concern to health officials and the key is the continuous work to limit the resumption of breakouts of these diseases. The work up to this point by organizations such as the Pan-American Health Organization contributed massively to a large reduction in cases and it is a positive sign of what is to come in the future.

– Drew Allen

Drew is based in Wilmington, DE, USA and focuses on Global Health for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons