Mexico’s Measles Surge and Somaliland’s Khat Problem

Editors' Note

On Monday, Texas health officials announced that the state's measles outbreak had ended after no new cases were reported for 42 days. Yet measles continues to infect nearby states, and the Texas outbreak has spilled into Chihuahua, Mexico, where nearly 4,000 cases had been reported through August 13.

That number is the most—by a wide margin—for any state or province across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Chihuahua had also recorded 13 measles deaths—three times more than the United States and Canada combined. To lead this week's edition, reporter Gina Jiménez speaks with Mexican officials and public health experts to unpack how low vaccination rates and cuts to government health-care budgets allowed measles to gain traction in Mexico.

Next, Stanford Global Health Media Fellow Neha Mukherjee describes how the Trump administration's efforts to curb immigration, including suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, could reduce the already dwindling U.S. health-care workforce where 1 in 6 hospital employees identifies as an immigrant.

To wrap up, Abdiwahab M. Ali, a PhD candidate at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, sheds light on khat use in Somaliland. There, an estimated 90% of men to chew the stimulant plant, which can cause a slew of health issues including cardiovascular disease, oral cancer, and mental health disorders.

Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor