Health · Public Health & Disease · 3 hrs ago
El Niño could raise disease risks across Latin America
El Niño is expected to bring major climate shifts across Latin America in the coming months.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gives it more than a 90% chance of becoming very strong between late 2026 and early 2027.
The Pan American Health Organization identified seven public health risks linked to the weather event in a regional assessment.
Heavy rain and floods can contaminate drinking water and disrupt sanitation, raising risks from leptospirosis, hepatitis A and intestinal infections.
Heat, humidity and standing water can help mosquitoes spread dengue and chikungunya, while drought can lead people to store water where mosquitoes breed.
These climate impacts could allow infections to spread more often or into new areas, including higher-altitude zones, according to the World Health Organization.
Argentina says El Niño is active and is very likely to continue through the 2026-27 summer, but the material provided does not specify further response plans.
El Niño could increase the spread of infectious diseases across Latin America through extreme rainfall, floods and droughts.
The Pan American Health Organization identified seven major public health risks linked to the 2026–2027 climate event.
Risks include mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya, as well as water-related diseases including cholera, leptospirosis and hepatitis A.
Flooding can contaminate drinking water and overwhelm sanitation systems, while heat and standing water can create more mosquito breeding sites.
US forecasts give El Niño more than a 90% chance of reaching “very strong” intensity between late 2026 and early 2027.
- Who
- The Pan American Health Organization and health specialists have warned of risks to people across Latin America.
- What
- El Niño-related climate disruptions could increase the spread of infectious diseases.
- When
- The risks are associated with the 2026–2027 episode; the US forecast points to a possible peak between late 2026 and early 2027.
- Where
- Latin America, including Argentina.
- Why
- Extreme rainfall, floods and droughts can disrupt water and sanitation systems and create conditions that favor pathogens and disease-carrying mosquitoes.
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- US forecast
- More than 90% chance of “very strong” intensity between late 2026 and early 2027
- Regional health risks
- The Pan American Health Organization identified seven major risks
- Argentina
- The National Meteorological Service confirmed El Niño was active
- Argentina summer forecast
- Nearly 100% probability El Niño would persist through summer 2026–2027
What people are saying
With floods, water-related diseases appear, and these are hepatitis A, gastroenteritis of all kinds, diarrhea, and leptospirosis.
Bacterial and viral gastroenteritis, parasites, many of them transmitted by the water itself. Hepatitis A is very common during flood periods.
Exceptionally warm ocean and atmospheric temperatures can amplify or modify the predicted climate anomalies, including droughts and floods, and their associated impacts on public health.