Particle.news
Download on the App Store
25 ARTICLES
·
43m ago

Canada Loses Measles Elimination Status After Yearlong Transmission

PAHO verified a full year of uninterrupted spread of the same virus strain, prompting a national push to raise vaccination to end transmission.

A woman passes near healthy awareness posters related to the measles outbreak during a public health awareness campaign, at the Taber Health Centre, in the largely Mennonite community of Taber, Alberta, Canada, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington, as from left, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, President Donald Trump and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, listen. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
A vial of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is pictured at International Community Health Services, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Overview

  • The Pan American Health Organization notified Canada that it no longer holds measles elimination status, a change that also cost the Americas their regional designation, according to PAHO’s director.
  • Canada has reported 5,138 measles cases since October 2024 and two infant deaths, with the outbreak first linked to an event in New Brunswick before spreading across most provinces.
  • Health officials say recent spread has persisted mainly in under-vaccinated communities, including some conservative Mennonite groups, against a backdrop of declining childhood MMR coverage.
  • PHAC is working with provinces, territories and PAHO on targeted vaccination, stronger surveillance and data sharing, and Canada can regain its designation after 12 months without continuous transmission of the current strain.
  • U.S. health authorities are watching for potential loss of their status as 2025 cases reached 1,681 with multiple outbreaks, while PAHO reports roughly 12,000 regional cases this year across at least 10 countries.