Honduras Health News

Honduran health authorities are investigating the death of a 21-year-old in Choluteca who presented dengue symptoms, as the country reports eight confirmed cases of chikungunya, mostly in the Central District and traced to travel to Nicaragua.

Honduras's Medical College has called an assembly for Saturday to discuss a 47-day pay dispute affecting about 727 doctors, and warns it will extend protests Monday unless the government convenes talks with Health and Finance officials to review pending cases.

A national food-security researcher warns that rising prices for staples are forcing poor Hondurans to replace nutritious foods with cheaper options, increasing malnutrition risk, especially for children under five, pregnant women, and the elderly.

Health authorities confirmed eight chikungunya cases in Honduras this year, including community transmission in Alauca, El Paraíso, near the Nicaragua border, after an infected Honduran returned from Nicaragua.

Hospital María's Little Hearts program has provided heart surgery to over 120 Honduran children with congenital heart defects over its first year and will continue for a second year, supported by international specialists and medical brigades that also train local physicians.

The main public hospital's sewing department, now operating in renovated facilities with a L25 million investment from UNOPS, will produce up to 5,000 hospital gowns, sheets, and surgical linens monthly after two years of supply shortages.

Samuel Santos, president of the Medical College of Honduras, testified before prosecutors about a complaint over suspended medical services during the ongoing physician strike over unpaid wages, as the dispute continues to block public healthcare.

Negotiations between Honduras's Medical College and the Health Ministry ended without agreement on settling salary arrears to 727 doctors (per the union) or 158 (per the ministry), leaving 45 days of informational assemblies and pressure campaigns unresolved.

The government is paying 334 interim doctors' back wages, opening six new operating rooms at the Teaching Hospital in Tegucigalpa to double daily surgeries from 60 to 120, and spending 274 million lempiras (about $11 million) on medicines and medical supplies.

Pharmacists report that unvetted medications lacking health authority registration are potentially circulating through Honduras pharmacies and labs under an emergency decree allowing direct government purchases, posing a public health risk.

Congress approved a measure to mark October 25 annually as Spina Bifida Prevention Day, aiming to raise awareness of a birth defect that affects an estimated 30–40 per 10,000 live births in Honduras and can be prevented with adequate folic acid intake during early pregnancy.

Lawmakers approved a L6.7 million (about $268,000) budget allocation for Hospital General San Felipe in Tegucigalpa to install vandal-resistant windows and upgrade electrical and air-conditioning systems.

An infectious-disease specialist warns that some Honduran dengue diagnoses may actually be rickettsiosis, citing a confirmed Olancho case where a patient with fever, seizures, and delirium tested positive for rickettsia Typhi.

Honduras's Forensic Medicine Directorate will bury 20 unclaimed bodies from Tegucigalpa's morgue on November 14, bringing the year's total of bodies interred by the institute to 76.

Ten Honduran children with congenital heart defects will receive surgery at the Regional Hospital of the North through a pediatric cardiovascular brigade organized with support from international organizations and Salvadoran specialists.

Honduras's Health Ministry trained medical, nursing, pharmacy, and laboratory professionals to identify and act on vaccination opportunities, addressing declining immunization rates driven by vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and falling clinic attendance since 2017.

The Pan American Health Organization is conducting workshops across Honduras to strengthen pharmacy and logistics personnel's skills in inventory control and proper medicine storage and distribution practices.

Honduras's Medical College continued nationwide informational assemblies on October 21, marking 45 consecutive days of protest over unpaid wages, salary compliance, pending raises, and reinstatement of fired doctors, with the government and Medical College offering conflicting accounts of resolved cases.

The Health Ministry has rolled out a digital vaccination platform that allows citizens to register doses, access digital vaccination cards, and enables real-time monitoring of vaccination coverage nationwide.

Omega Association, which provides palliative care for terminally ill patients, asked Congress's Finance Committee to maintain state budget support it has received since 2017, citing interruptions in 2020 but resumed funding in 2021.

Congresswoman Sara Zavala proposed legislation to strengthen early detection of breast cancer, guarantee comprehensive patient care including free psychological support and reconstruction, and protect women's employment and social rights after diagnosis.

Dr. Rodrigo Martínez, a respected physician in northern Honduras who spent 39 years in medicine before retiring in 2007, has died; he was known for his work at the Centro Médico Sampedrano and his service to generations of patients in San Pedro Sula.

As a 43-day medical services suspension continues, Congress president Tomás Zambrano called for ongoing talks between physicians and the government, warning that Congress could intervene if negotiations fail to resolve the conflict affecting public healthcare access.

Claudia Ramírez, representing Honduras's medical association, responded to Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez's condemnation of the doctors' ongoing strike over unpaid salaries and poor working conditions, urging him and all sectors of society to unite in demanding government reform of the country's health system.

The Health Ministry announced six new operating rooms at Hospital Escuela that are expected to double daily surgeries from 60 to 120 and reduce the surgical backlog by the first quarter of 2027.

At a PAHO regional webinar, Honduras Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Midence highlighted the country's progress in reducing preventable maternal deaths through emergency obstetric coordination, adolescent pregnancy prevention, and expanded contraceptive access.

Surveillance teams from all 20 of Honduras's health regions attended a PAHO-supported webinar on epidemiological intelligence, part of a Pandemic Fund-backed project to build a faster, One Health–integrated early-warning system for outbreaks and health emergencies.

A PAHO technical team met with Honduras's Health Secretariat, the Global Fund, UNAIDS, and civil-society partners this week to identify ways to strengthen HIV diagnosis, information systems, and counseling by integrating services into primary-care networks.

Five of ten children with congenital heart disease have been successfully operated on during a pediatric cardiovascular surgery brigade at the IHSS hospital in San Pedro Sula.

Honduras's Medical College challenged Health Ministry assertions that 96% of public-sector doctors have been paid, questioning the source of the government's figures while many physicians remain unpaid for months.