内容摘要：A report last year by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program concluded that drinking water with more than twice the CDC’s recommended level was associated with lower IQs in kids. The study was based on research conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico.

A report last year by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program concluded that drinking water with more than twice the CDC’s recommended level was associated with lower IQs in kids. The study was based on research conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico.

Federal officials have documented 922 cases and one death in Chihuahua. Officials, health workers and local leaders say the numbers are likely underestimated, and misinformation about vaccines and endemic distrust of authorities are their biggest obstacles.Pressed against the fringes of the small northern city of Cuauhtemoc, the Mennonite settlement here spans about 40 kilometers (25 miles). With 23,000 residents, it’s one of Cuauhtemoc’s primary economic engines, but it’s an isolated place where families keep to themselves. Some have turned to social media and anti-vaccine websites for research. Others use little technology but visit family in the United States, where they also hear misinformation — which then spreads through word of mouth.

Chihuahua is a particularly worrisome place, officials say — as a border state, the risk that the preventable disease will continue spreading internationally and affect the most vulnerable is high.“We have a massive flow of people,” said Alexis Hernández, a Cuauhtemoc health official. “That makes things a lot more complicated.”An aerial view of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Silva Rey)

An aerial view of Cuauhtemoc, Mexico, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Silva Rey)Mexico considered measles eliminated in 1998. But its vaccination rate against the virus was around 76% as of 2023, according to the World Health Organization — a dip from previous years and well below the 95% rate experts say is needed to prevent outbreaks.

Mexico’s current outbreak began in March. Officials traced it to an 8-year-old unvaccinated Mennonite boy who visited relatives in Seminole, Texas — at the center of the U.S. outbreak.

Cases rapidly spread through Chihuahua’s 46,000-strong Mennonite community via schools and churches, according to religious and health leaders. From there, they said, it spread to workers in orchards and cheese plants.Marie Jean Denis, left, is examined by Jennie Joseph, lead midwife and clinic director at the Commonsense Childbirth clinic. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Marie Jean Denis, left, is examined by Jennie Joseph, lead midwife and clinic director at the Commonsense Childbirth clinic. (AP Photo/John Raoux)Joseph’s organization — called Commonsense Childbirth — is a smaller-scale example of that type of care.

It has clinics, a birthing center and training for health professionals. The midwives who run the program welcome vulnerable patients that other practices turn away, such as those who are uninsured or haven’t had prenatal care until late in pregnancy.About half the patients and much of the staff, including Joseph, are people of color. Research shows Black Americans are more likely to distrust the medical system than their white counterparts, but Joseph stresses building trust.