Ongoing Measles Activity Reported in Canada - Annual Case Count Highest in 20 Years

Canada has lost its measles elimination status as of Nov. 10, as nearly all cases are epidemiologically linked. The sustained local transmission for over 12 consecutive months meets the criteria set by the WHO for reclassification from elimination to endemic status. The ongoing transmission mirrors multi-state activity in the US and persistent clusters in Mexico, highlighting the need for coordinated regional vaccination efforts, enhanced genomic surveillance, and unified cross-border outbreak verification across North America.  

Despite Canada’s strong diagnostic capacity and active surveillance, gaps in immunization coverage have compromised the containment of the outbreak. This collective regional resurgence has not been seen since the early 2000s. This represents the most complete data available as of Nov. 10.   

Most cases (88 percent) occurred in unvaccinated individuals. The most affected age group is children aged 5-17 years, who made up 45 percent of all cases, followed by adults aged 18-24 years.  

All travelers should ensure they are up to date on their childhood immunizations, including measles, prior to travel.  Measles vaccine contains live, weakened measles virus. It is available as a single preparation or as a combination vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).

In general, persons can be considered immune to measles if they have documentation of physician-diagnosed measles, laboratory evidence of measles immunity, or proof of two doses of live measles vaccine on or after their first birthday. Most people born before 1957 are likely to have had the disease, and generally are not to be considered susceptible. 

Learn more about leveraging our industry-leading regional and medical experts for intelligence that helps your organization stay ahead of health risks to your people and operations.