Overview
- PAHO’s Regional Verification Commission concluded during a Nov. 4–7 review that Canada failed to interrupt circulation of the same measles strain for 12 months, triggering loss of the region’s elimination status even as other countries retain their individual certifications.
- Canada has logged just over 5,100 cases and two infant deaths in the past year, with transmission first detected in October 2024 in New Brunswick and continuing in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
- Regionwide totals reached 12,593 confirmed cases in 10 countries and 28 deaths as of Nov. 7, with 23 deaths in Mexico, three in the United States and two in Canada.
- Mexico reports 5,185 cases and ongoing transmission concentrated in Chihuahua, and PAHO is supplying vaccines through its revolving fund, strengthening laboratory surveillance, training vaccinators and deploying a mission to the state.
- The United States has recorded 1,681 cases this year, including clusters in South Carolina and the Arizona–Utah border area, and could lose its measles-free status if transmission is not halted; PAHO urges at least 95% two-dose coverage to close immunity gaps linked to outbreaks in under-vaccinated communities.