Colombia faces yellow fever surge as death toll surpasses 70

Colombia is grappling with a mosquito-borne yellow fever outbreak that has killed more than 70 people since 2024. The government declared a national health emergency last year; from 2024 to January 2026 there were 161 confirmed cases and 73 deaths, including 13 cases and 10 deaths in 2026. Yellow fever symptoms resemble flu—fever, headache and nausea—though severe cases can cause multi-organ failure and internal bleeding; about 15% of patients develop severe illness and roughly half of those die, according to the WHO. The outbreak is being monitored as part of global disease surveillance.