Canada’s measles-free status revoked, says Health Canada The Pan American Health Organization has notified the Public Health Agency of Canada that Canada no longer holds measles elimination status, says Health Canada. The health agency says that while ‘transmission has slowed recently, the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months.’The LatestCanada has lost its measles elimination status, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.Since the fall of 2024, Canada has recorded more than 5,000 measles cases in nine provinces and one territory.Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status once the current outbreak is interrupted for at least 12 months.An infectious disease expert calls the loss of status “a giant wake-up call that we have gaps in our public health infrastructure.”UpdatesNovember 102 hours agoOther countries took 5 years to regain statusVerity StevensonA dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine at Southwestern Public Health in St. Thomas, Ont., on March 4. (Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press)We’re wrapping up our live updates for the moment on Canada’s loss of its measles elimination status. The announcement didn’t come as a surprise to many, but health officials and experts say it is a setback in terms of Canada’s reputation and standing for public health globally. It also shows how there are gaps in the country’s public health infrastructure since Canada first gained the status in 1998, according to infectious diseases specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch, who says he’d like to see more investments in outreach and programs to lower barriers to vaccination access. Two other PAHO countries — Venezuela and Brazil — lost their measles elimination status in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Through sustained public health efforts, they both got it back after about five years, a spokesperson for PAHO told The Canadian Press in an email.2 hours agoHealth minister ‘following the situation closely’Lauren PelleyMinister of Health Marjorie Michel rises during question period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on June 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)After repeated requests for comment from CBC News, a spokesperson for Canada’s Health Minister Marjorie Michel shared in an email that “Minister Michel is following the situation closely, and working with [the Public Health Agency of Canada], as well as her provincial and territorial counterparts, so Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status.”The measles situation was also part of the discussions during the last health ministers’ meeting, the email continued.2 hours agoAlberta’s cases sharply dropAmina ZafarDoses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) are displayed in a box. (Rebecca Blackwell/The Associated Press)The office of Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services said Monday that the province has seen a sharp drop in measles cases. “There are currently two active cases in Alberta, a number that has remained stable for several weeks. There are two patients in hospital, and there have never been more than five at any time,” it said in a statement to CBC News.The province says it continues to promote vaccination and hopes its numbers will keep falling and stay low to allow its outbreak to be declared over — which federal officials note takes 42 days, or two incubation periods of the virus after rash onset.Alberta previously boosted clinic hours for measles vaccination, along with provincewide outreach, particularly for early childhood doses.2 hours agoAlberta and Ontario were the twin epicentres of the outbreakGraeme BruceAbout 84 per cent of measles cases reported in 2025 in Canada were in Ontario and Alberta, which experts have tied to waning uptake in the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.Where do things stand in those two provinces? About a month ago, Ontario declared the outbreak to be over, after nearly a year. In that time, the cumulative case number surpassed 2,300. But no additional cases were reported in the province’s latest update.Meanwhile in Alberta, where there were 1,944 cumulative cases in 2025, weekly case counts are low, with just six new reported cases the week of Oct. 19. 3 hours agoHow Canada can get back elimination statusLauren PelleyDaniel Salas, an immunization expert with the Pan American Health Organization, is shown in this March 2020 file photo. (Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)”Once a country loses the verification status, it takes one year after that change of the status for a country to regain that status again,” explained Dr. Daniel Salas, executive manager of the special program for comprehensive immunization at PAHO.At today’s media briefing, Salas said PAHO’s recommendations to Canada include addressing vaccine hesitancy in certain communities and implementing an electronic vaccination record system countrywide.He noted only six provinces became involved in the federal government’s efforts to standardize electronic vaccination records during the COVID-19 pandemic.Canadian medical experts have been calling for a national vaccine registry for decades. In a recent report, Ontario’s top doctor pushed for a national immunization schedule and registry, including a modernization of his own province’s record-keeping system.”Vaccine preventable diseases are an ongoing threat that can and will re-emerge if we let our guard down. A recent outbreak of measles in Ontario has unfortunately highlighted how quickly previously controlled diseases can spread,” Dr. Kieran Moore said in the 2025 report.3 hours agoHealth official says Canada’s status loss is ‘reversible’Lauren PelleyDr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization, speaks at a media briefing on Nov. 10, 2025. (PAHO/CBC)Despite great efforts made in Canada, the country has lost its measles elimination status and the virus is now considered endemic, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in a media briefing held this morning.The public health body made its decision about Canada after carefully reviewing the country’s epidemiological data, Barbosa said. It represents a setback, he added, but it’s “also reversible” by keeping the country measles-free and increasing immunization coverage.Canadian officials are “firmly committed” to achieving elimination again, Barbosa said.”Measles is the most contagious virus known to humankind. One infected person can transmit the disease to up to 18 others. Thanks to vaccines, most people have never seen an outbreak in their lifetime,” PAHO’s director told reporters.He also stressed that when one country in the region has lost its elimination status, the region as a whole loses its status, and he warned of the ongoing risks of imported cases of measles from other regions.3 hours agoWhy measles is so dangerousLauren PelleyA paramyxovirus measles virus seen in a transmission electron micrographic image (Dr. Erskine Palmer/CDC)Measles isn’t just highly contagious, it’s also incredibly dangerous.Early on in an infection, people may experience a high fever, cough and runny nose — not unlike other, milder illnesses. Then comes the telltale rash: Red or purple, depending on someone’s skin tone, the blotchy rash spreads over the body and can last up to a week.Measles can also lead to a range of life-threatening complications, including pneumonia, brain swelling, even death. In some cases, it leads to a devastating, deadly brain disease that develops years after an initial infection.The risks aren’t as rare as you’d think. U.S. data shows roughly one in five unvaccinated individuals who get measles need to be hospitalized, and up to three in 1,000 children who catch the virus die. (Complications are more likely in high-risk groups such as young children under the age of five and people who are pregnant or immunocompromised.)3 hours agoFederal health minister declines commentAmina ZafarHealth Minister Marjorie Michel rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)The office of Health Minister Marjorie Michel has declined an interview request from CBC News regarding Canada losing its measles elimination status. 3 hours ago2025 was a brutal year for measles in CanadaGraeme BruceGraeme Bruce here, I’m a graphics and data producer. There have been more than 5,000 total cases of measles in Canada this year, as of Oct. 25, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada’s database, most of which were reported in Ontario and Alberta.The staggering number caps off a 27-year run of Canada holding the measles elimination status, which it lost today.While the 2025 number is dramatic, the weekly number of news cases has significantly decreased from the high seen in the spring.4 hours agoSparks of Canada’s major outbreak ignitedAmina ZafarA stock photo shows a boy lying on his front, with measles spots covering his back. (Aleksandr Finch/Shutterstock)The Public Health Agency of Canada has said it considers Oct. 27, 2024, the starting point of Canada’s current measles outbreak, which has climbed to more than 5,100 confirmed and probable cases of the highly contagious virus that spreads in the air.Public health officials say it started when an international traveller attended a wedding in New Brunswick last October. New Brunswick’s outbreak ended in January, but guests at that wedding had already brought the virus to southwestern Ontario, where that province’s outbreak was concentrated among closely knit Mennonite communities.The same strain of measles virus went on to cause infections in nine provinces and one territory, according to federal health officials.
Canada loses its measles elimination status as it happened
