Canada no longer measles-free, United States may be next
The Pan American Health Organization (Paho) on Monday said that Canada has lost its measles-free status after failing to curb an outbreak of the virus for 12 consecutive months.
While other countries in the Americas are still considered to have stamped out the disease individually, the Canadian case has deprived the entire South and North America of its regional measles-free status.
The United States also risks losing its individual status if it does not stop an ongoing outbreak by January, with related cases now reported in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina.
Canadian health officials have attributed the development to decreased vaccination of the populace against measles, with the outbreak beginning October last year.
Canada had been declared measles-free for three decades. Regaining its measles elimination status is still possible if it can curb its spread for at least 12 months.
According to reports, the country has reported more than 5,000 measles cases in 2025, with most of them in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta, three times the 1,681 cases reported in the US, despite Canada’s much smaller population.
Canadian health officials said that the bulk of the outbreak has been in “under-vaccinated communities”.
Paho officials during a news briefing on Monday appealed to Canadian government and the public to ramp up vaccinations, noting that 95% of the population needs to be immunised to stop the spread of measles.
Dr Jarbas Barbosa, the health organisation’s Director noted: “This loss represents a setback, but it is also reversible.”
The Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement that it was collaborating with Paho and regional health authorities to improve vaccine rates and strengthen data sharing.
The MMR vaccine with a 97% effectiveness is the most effective way to fight off the virus which can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and death.
The Americas remains the first and only region in the world to have been declared measles-free, beginning in 2016. Though the status was briefly lifted after outbreaks in Venezuela and Brazil, both countries regained elimination status in 2024, which was partly achieved through coordinated efforts that saw the immunization of millions of persons.
However, there is currently a surge in the spread of measles in North America. Along with Canada and the United States, Mexico has also witnessed increased cases, ranking it among the top 10 countries with the largest outbreaks of measles.
Credit: BBC and Horse’s Mouth News
