Canada loses its measles elimination status amid large outbreak

By Nadia Kounang, Jen Christensen, CNN

(CNN) — Canada has lost its measles elimination status amid a large, ongoing outbreak of the virus, Public Health Agency of Canada said Monday.

Canada’s health agency was informed by the Pan American Health Organization, part of the World Health Organization, that it had lost its measles elimination status as measles transmission has continued uninterrupted since October 2024.

While the outbreak has slowed recently, according to the Canadian government, the outbreak is still ongoing, primarily within under-vaccinated communities.

“PAHO’s Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year,” public health officials said in a statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Re-Verification Commission, or RVC, is an independent body of experts that was created by PAHO, the Pan American Health Organization, to analyze data and the current measles outbreak situation. The group met at the beginning of November and made its recommendations to the PAHO director, who makes the ultimate decision about Canada’s status.

Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status once transmission of the measles strain associated with the current outbreak is interrupted for at least 12 months, the Public Health Agency of Canada said on its website. The Agency said it is working with PAHO and local public health leaders to slow the outbreak.

Canada had been considered measles-free since 1998. A measles vaccine was first approved to be used in Canada in 1963 and various vaccination campaigns were successful. But in more recent years, vaccine hesitancy has grown and vaccination rates fell below the Canadian target of 95% coverage for all recommended childhood vaccines, research shows.

“It’s important to say that all the other 34 countries in the region, they keep their certification as measles-free,” said PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, at a news conference Monday. “This loss represents a setback, of course, but it is also reversible.”

However, with the change in Canada’s status, the Americas region officially loses its measles-free status.

There are no formal consequences to losing a measles-free status. But until measles is eliminated worldwide, countries will face the risk of reintroduction and the spread of the highly contagious virus, Barbosa said. The virus is so contagious that one infected person can transmit the disease to up to 18 others.

As of last month, Canada tallied more than 5,000 cases for the year — more than twice as many as the country has recorded in the past 25 years combined.

The US has also seen large outbreaks this year and is on the verge of losing its elimination status.

“We are hoping that the US is going to stop the transmission even before that deadline,” said Dr. Daniel Salas, executive manager, with PAHO’s Special Program for Comprehensive Immunization.

The year’s largest measles outbreak in the US started in west Texas in January and has been declared over, but there is an ongoing investigation into whether a growing outbreak in the Arizona/Utah border could be connected. Cases and outbreaks have also been reported in other states.

“We are supporting all the actions that the US has been taking to actually control the outbreak to stop them,” said Salas.

Mexico also has a recent outbreak, Salas said, concentrated mostly in Chihuahua, but there are also cases in Mexico’s Southern states.

“Definitely they need to continue vaccinating,” Salas said.

With hard work, Barbosa said he believes that Canada can gain its measles-free status back.

“As we have demonstrated before with political commitment regional cooperation and sustain the vaccination, the region can once again interrupt the transmission and reclaim this collective achievement,” Barbosa said.

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CNN’s Paula Newton contributed to this report.