US EditionCanada has lost its measles elimination status, says Ottawa
- On Nov. 10, 2025, the Public Health Agency of Canada announced PAHO revoked Canada's measles elimination status after confirming ongoing transmission of the same strain for over one year.
- The outbreak began in New Brunswick in October 2024 when a traveller from Thailand infected guests at a wedding in Florenceville, with the first locally acquired case recorded on Oct. 27 last year, and then spread to nine provinces affecting over 5,100 cases.
- Transmission has slowed recently, but the outbreak has persisted for over 12 months, primarily within under-vaccinated communities, with Ontario and Alberta hardest-hit and sporadic cases in Manitoba and British Columbia.
- PHAC said it will coordinate with PAHO and federal, provincial and territorial partners to boost vaccination coverage, strengthen data sharing and enable better surveillance, and Canada can recover measles-free status if it follows measures from the Regional Verification Commission on measles and rubella elimination.
- Health experts last month predicted PAHO would strip Canada's status, and the United States and Mexico are also facing outbreaks of the same genotype as the Americas.
101 Articles
101 Articles
What Does It Mean for a Country to Be Measles-Free?
In the wake of a measles outbreak in Canada that has infected thousands of people over the past year, an international health agency revoked the country’s measles-free status on Nov. 10, 2025. The Pan American Health Organization, which serves as the World Health Organization’s regional office for the Americas, made this announcement after the agency’s measles elimination commission met in… Source
In 1998, the measles were declared extinct in Canada. Now the country is struggling with a major outbreak of the disease and the WHO is responding. Is the US next?
Canada loses measles elimination status after resurgence linked to religious group
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after almost three decades, health officials said on Monday, citing a persistent resurgence of the virus largely driven by a religious group's refusal to vaccinate their children against it. Canada’s latest outbreak has lasted for over than a year.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
