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Peru Declares 90-Day Health Emergency in Loreto Over Whooping Cough Outbreak

The order sends funded vaccination teams to remote communities after reports of deadly gaps in basic care.

Overview

  • The 90-day emergency, formalized Thursday by Supreme Decree 007-2026-SA, was published in the official gazette El Peruano.
  • The Health Ministry set aside S/6 million and will deploy 13 brigades for 90 days in 15 communities to run vaccinations, track cases, treat patients, and move severe cases to Lima when needed.
  • National surveillance reports active spread, with children ages 5 to 11 making up 45.16% of cases, and Loreto accounting for 383 of 932 infections nationwide.
  • Human-rights groups and indigenous federations reported more than 60 child deaths in the Chambira basin in Urarinas and detailed shortages such as one doctor for roughly 60 communities and a local intercultural clinic without paid staff since April.
  • Authorities flagged high-risk districts including Urarinas, El Tigre, and Nauta, and the decree limits emergency contracts to a listed set of goods and services to speed supplies into river communities with slow access.