Whooping cough is a real risk in Guatemala: after no confirmed cases from 2021 to 2023 and 9 in 2024, the Ministry of Health (MSPAS) confirmed 158 cases between 1 January and 30 August 2025, and all six people who died were babies under one year old.
In short: Pertussis came back in Guatemala in 2025, about five times the 2024 level in suspected cases. Babies too young to be fully vaccinated carry the danger. For adults and older children the protection is being up to date on DTaP or Tdap, which CDC lists among the routine vaccines for any Guatemala trip. Pregnant travelers should talk to their provider about Tdap; Guatemala’s own schedule gives it in every pregnancy between weeks 20 and 36.
Four quiet years, then 2025
MSPAS’s pertussis surveillance report, dated to epidemiological week 35 of 2025 (30 August 2025), carries a year-by-year series back to 2012. The recent years show the swing:
| Year | Suspected | Confirmed | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 342 | 67 | 6 |
| 2019 | 252 | 64 | 3 |
| 2020 | 62 | 13 | 0 |
| 2021 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 65 | 9 | 0 |
| 2025 (to 30 Aug) | 340 | 158 | 6 |
Source: MSPAS, Dirección de Epidemiología y Gestión del Riesgo, Vigilancia de tos ferina SE 35-2025, historical table of suspected, confirmed and fatal cases, 2012 to SE 35-2025. As of 9 November 2026.
The 2025 figure covers only eight months and is already the highest confirmed count in the series, above the 150 confirmed for the whole of 2016. MSPAS puts the national notification rate at 0.4 per 100,000 people for 2024 and 1.88 per 100,000 by week 35 of 2025. Its conclusions tie the rise to falling vaccination coverage and to the three-to-four-year outbreak cycle of the disease. They describe the situation in the Americas, including Guatemala’s, as a resurgence, and they back an MSPAS epidemiological alert issued on 14 February 2025.
Cases were reported from 26 of Guatemala’s 29 MSPAS health areas. The areas with the most confirmed cases by week 35 were Guatemala Central (33), Guatemala Nor-Occidente (17), Guatemala Sur (12), Guatemala Nor-Oriente (11) and Izabal (10).
Babies under one carry the risk
MSPAS writes that children under one year old have the highest risk of severe illness and severe complications, including death. Its 2025 figures bear that out: the report says no pertussis deaths had been recorded since 2020, then six in the first eight months of 2025, all under one year old. CDC says the same in its own vaccination guidance: babies younger than 1 year are at greatest risk of getting whooping cough and having severe complications.
For parents, the gap is between birth and the first doses. Guatemala’s schedule starts pertussis protection with the pentavalent vaccine at 2 months, so a newborn has not yet had its first dose. MSPAS gives Tdap during pregnancy specifically to prevent pertussis in babies, and asks that health workers caring for newborns and infants be vaccinated. If you are planning a trip with an infant, take these figures to your paediatrician, and see our Guatemala with kids guide.
Vaccines: CDC’s travel advice and Guatemala’s schedule
CDC’s Guatemala destination page asks every traveler to be up to date on routine vaccines before the trip, and names Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, Tdap or Td) among them. CDC’s whooping cough vaccination page recommends vaccination for babies and children, preteens and teens, pregnant women and adults, and says these vaccines work well, but protection fades over time. MSPAS makes the same point: neither the disease nor vaccination gives lifelong protection.
Guatemala’s MSPAS schedule for pertussis-containing vaccines:
| Who | Vaccine | When |
|---|---|---|
| Infants | Pentavalent (includes pertussis) | 3 doses at 2, 4 and 6 months |
| Toddlers | DPT, booster 1 | 18 months |
| Children | DPT, booster 2 | 4 years |
| Older children and up | Tdap, booster 3 | From 10 years |
| Pregnant women | Tdap | Every pregnancy, gestational weeks 20 to 36 |
| Health workers in direct care | Tdap | Especially those caring for newborns and infants under one |
Source: MSPAS, Vigilancia de tos ferina SE 35-2025, vaccination recommendations. As of 9 November 2026.
MSPAS says the vaccines are available in Guatemala in combination form as pentavalent, DPT and Tdap. Tdap for pregnant women joined Guatemala’s routine schedule in 2019. For CDC’s pregnancy guidance in the context of a trip, see our pregnant travel in Guatemala guide. For the rest of the routine and travel vaccine list, see vaccines for Guatemala.
Guatemala’s coverage gap
PAHO’s pertussis update of 8 December 2025 carries country vaccination coverage tables. For Guatemala in 2024 it shows 86% coverage for the first DTP dose and 81% for the third. The regional figures in the same update for 2024 are 89% for DTP1 and 87% for DTP3. The same tables show Guatemala’s DTP3 coverage at 99% in 2015.
PAHO places the rebound in a regional frame. Cases reported in the Americas fell to a low of 3,284 in 2021-2022, then rose to 11,202 in 2023 and 66,184 in 2024. PAHO’s later pertussis update of 25 March 2026 does not include a Guatemala paragraph, and MSPAS’s immunization-preventable diseases page lists no 2026 pertussis report (checked 9 November 2026).
Two details for clinicians back home
Antibiotic resistance. CDC’s Guatemala page links to its guidance on macrolide-resistant Bordetella pertussis. CDC says this resistance has been reported globally and remains rare in the United States. It names Asia, Australia, Europe and South America as regions with rising reports. For patients with suspected pertussis who recently travelled to countries with reported resistance, CDC asks providers to send a specimen to the public health laboratory for culture and further testing. It also asks patients to mention any recent travel when they seek care.
A look-alike bacterium. MSPAS reports that in 2024, Bordetella parapertussis was found in 56% of cases with samples (34 of 61). MSPAS describes it as causing a similar but milder syndrome, although every case notified that year had been hospitalised.
MSPAS reviews pertussis alongside measles-rubella in its vaccine-preventable disease analyses. For the measles picture, see our measles in Guatemala page.
This page is general information, not medical advice.
Sources
- CDC, Guatemala destination page (traveler view), routine vaccines: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/guatemala (read 9 November 2026)
- CDC, Whooping Cough Vaccination (page dated 30 April 2026): https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/vaccines/index.html (read 9 November 2026)
- CDC, Antibiotic-resistant Bordetella pertussis, for health care providers (page dated 27 October 2026): https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/hcp/antibiotic-resistance/index.html (read 9 November 2026)
- MSPAS, Dirección de Epidemiología y Gestión del Riesgo, immunization-preventable diseases situation room: https://epidemiologia.mspas.gob.gt/informacion/vigilancia-epidemiologica/salas-situacionales/11-inmunoprevenibles (read 9 November 2026)
- MSPAS, Vigilancia de tos ferina, SE 35-2025 (PDF): https://epidemiologia.mspas.gob.gt/phocadownload/userupload/inmunoprevenibles/2025/tos-ferina-sem-35-2025.pdf (read 9 November 2026)
- PAHO/WHO, Actualización Epidemiológica: Tosferina (coqueluche) en la Región de las Américas, 8 December 2025 (PDF): https://www.paho.org/sites/default/files/2025-12/8-dic-2025actualizacion-epi-tosferinaesfinal.pdf (read 9 November 2026)
- PAHO/WHO, Actualización Epidemiológica: Tosferina, 25 March 2026 (PDF): https://www.paho.org/sites/default/files/2026/03/25032026actualizacion-epi-tosferinaesfinal.pdf (read 9 November 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is whooping cough a risk in Guatemala?
Yes, and it rose sharply in 2025. Guatemala’s Ministry of Health (MSPAS) recorded 340 suspected and 158 confirmed pertussis cases from 1 January to 30 August 2025, against 65 suspected and 9 confirmed in all of 2024. Six people died in that 2025 period, all of them babies under one year old.
What does CDC recommend for whooping cough before a trip to Guatemala?
CDC’s Guatemala page lists Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, Tdap or Td) among the routine vaccines travelers should be up to date on before every trip. CDC recommends whooping cough vaccination for babies and children, preteens and teens, pregnant women and adults, and notes that protection fades over time.
Is it safe to take a newborn to Guatemala?
That is a decision for your paediatrician. The facts to bring to that conversation: all six 2025 pertussis deaths MSPAS reported were under one year old, MSPAS says children under one have the highest risk of severe disease and death, and Guatemala’s schedule gives the first pertussis-containing dose (pentavalent) at 2 months.
When should a pregnant traveler get Tdap?
Guatemala’s MSPAS schedule calls for Tdap in every pregnancy between gestational weeks 20 and 36; Tdap in pregnancy was added to Guatemala’s routine schedule in 2019. CDC also recommends whooping cough vaccination for women who are pregnant. Ask your own provider about timing before you travel.
Is the whooping cough vaccine available in Guatemala?
MSPAS states that pertussis vaccines are available in combination form as the pentavalent vaccine, DPT (triple bacterial) and acellular pertussis Tdap. Its national schedule uses all three: pentavalent at 2, 4 and 6 months, DPT boosters at 18 months and 4 years, and Tdap from age 10 and in pregnancy.
Are there newer 2026 figures for Guatemala?
MSPAS’s immunization-preventable diseases page listed its 30 August 2025 pertussis report as the most recent pertussis file on 9 November 2026. PAHO’s pertussis update of 25 March 2026 does not include a Guatemala paragraph.
