After Record-Setting 2018, Zika Cases Plummet In Sonora

By Murphy Woodhouse
Published: Thursday, December 26, 2019 - 1:13pm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A transmission electron micrograph of Zika virus.

In 2018, Sonora, the Mexican state to Arizona’s south, had the unwelcome distinction of having the most cases of Zika in the country. But this year, things have changed.

There were 347 confirmed cases in Sonora last year, accounting for roughly 40% of the national total. But as of late December this year, there have been only 13 cases, according to the most recent federal report.

That still puts Sonora in fourth place nationwide, but national numbers are also down significantly. There have been 136 confirmed cases through Dec. 23, compared to 860 for all of 2018.

With 27 cases, Sinaloa, the state to Sonora’s south, has the third highest number of cases after Morelos’s 28 and Jalisco’s 48.

Public health experts previously told KJZZ that the surge in cases last year could have been due to an unseasonably warm fall coupled with late season rainfall.

National Zika Report

Fronteras Science Sonora