Canada Declares Loss of Measles-Free Status Amid Rising Cases, US at Risk

Tue Nov 11 2025 00:10:19 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Canada's health officials announce the loss of measles-free status after a year-long outbreak. The US faces potential status loss as cases rise in several states.

The Pan American Health Organization reported that Canada has lost its measles-free status following an outbreak linked to low vaccination rates. This situation also threatens the United States, which may follow Canada if recent outbreaks continue. Public health officials are urging vaccination as a solution.

Canada has lost its measles elimination status, said the Pan American Health Organization (Paho) on Monday, after failing to curb an outbreak of the virus for 12 consecutive months.

Because Canada is no longer deemed measles-free, the Americas region as a whole has lost its elimination status, although individually the other countries are still considered to have stamped out the disease.

The US, however, risks losing its status as well if it does not stop an ongoing outbreak by January. Related cases have now been reported in Utah, Arizona, and South Carolina.

Canada's outbreak began last October, with health officials attributing it to fewer people being vaccinated against measles.

At a news conference on Monday, Paho officials appealed to Canadian governments and the public to ramp up vaccinations, noting that 95% of the population needs to be immunised to stop the spread of measles.

This loss represents a setback, but it is also reversible, said Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, the health organisation's director.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said in its own statement that it is collaborating with Paho and regional health authorities to improve vaccine rates and strengthen data sharing.

Prior to Monday, Canada had been declared measles-free for three decades. It can regain its elimination status if it can curb the spread of the measles strain associated with the current outbreak for at least 12 months.

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 higher than the 1,681 cases reported in the US, despite Canada's smaller population.

The bulk of the outbreak has been in under-vaccinated communities, Canadian health officials have said.

The MMR vaccine is the most effective way to fight off the dangerous virus, which can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling, and death. The jabs are 97% effective and also immunise against mumps and rubella.

Canadian immunologist Dawn Bowdish told the BBC that there are many reasons behind the low vaccination rates, including lack of access to general practitioners and misinformation.

It highlights how many of our systems broke down to get us to this point, said Prof. Bowdish of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. I hope that it will be a wake-up call to policymakers, and that it will be enough of a national embarrassment that we remedy some of those systemic issues.