Five Indigenous Yanomami infants have reportedly died from a preventable respiratory illness called pertussis, or whooping cough. The outbreak began Jan. 7 in the Yanomami Indigenous Territory in Roraima state in northern Brazil. A representative of the Urihi Yanomami Association (UYA) told Mongabay that health authorities have been slow to respond.
Three of the deaths have been confirmed by the state health agency in Boa Vista, Roraima’s capital city. The UYA told Mongabay that another two infants died in the Parima and Roko villages with similar symptoms but the cause of death has not yet been confirmed by health professionals. At least 59 additional Indigenous infants have been flown out of the Yanomami territory for medical treatment, UYA representatives told Mongabay.
Mongabay reviewed several death certificates and found the infants ranged from 1 month and 17 days to 4 months and 30 days old.
“Some of the children hadn’t even opened their eyes yet and have died,” Waihiri Hekurari Yanomami, the president of the UYA, told Mongabay by phone. At least three babies did not have a name yet; Yanomami mothers typically wait several months to name their children in case they don’t survive.
“Yanomami health has been neglected time and time again. All these children should have already been vaccinated, and their mothers too. If they were vaccinated, this situation would not be happening,” Hekurari said.
According to the Yanomami Special Indigenous Health District authority, full vaccination coverage of children under 1 rose from 29.8% in 2022 to 57.8% in 2025.
The latest health bulletin published by the municipality states that as of Feb. 22, 15 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed so far and another seven are awaiting confirmation. Several Yanomami infants are currently intubated, Hekurari said.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory, spanning more than 9.6 million hectares (23.7 million acres) in northern Brazil and southern Venezuela, has faced multiple health crises in recent years, particularly during a surge of illegal gold mining between 2019 and 2022.
Mining camps polluted rivers with mercury, and the still pools of water and deforestation led to malaria outbreaks. Many Yanomami communities faced malnutrition and respiratory infections compounded by limited access to medical care.
In early 2023, Brazil’s government declared a public health emergency after federal authorities documented widespread child malnutrition.
Officials have removed thousands of illegal miners and increased the presence of health teams. But Yanomami Indigenous leaders say medical services are insufficient.
“I don’t want my Yanomami people to suffer again because we have not even recovered from the suffering of 2022, 2023, 2021,” Hekurari Yanomami added. “Someone must be held accountable.”
Banner image: A Yanomami infant intubated at the Santo Antônio children’s hospital in Boa Vista, Roraima. Image courtesy of Emmily Melo/Hutukara Associação Yanomami.
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