Canada has lost measles elimination status The public health agency announced Mondaydue to its failure to control the ongoing virus outbreak for at least a year.
The World Health Organization team “reviewed the latest epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same strain of measles virus in Canada for more than one year,” the Public Health Agency of Canada said in a statement.
Canada eliminated measles in 1998, two years before the United States.
As of Monday, health officials had tallied 5,138 measles cases since October 2024. The outbreak began in New Brunswick, a province on the country's east coast. Two infants infected in utero were born premature and died.
The US is also on the verge of losing measles elimination status as an outbreak that began in January continues to spread across the country.
The outbreak began in West Texas and spread to New Mexico. At least 862 people – mostly in Texas – have been infected. Three people died. Two of them were little girls who lived in the epicenter of the outbreak, Gaines County, Texas.
Although cases have decreased in West Texas, the virus continues to spread. There is an outbreak in Utah and Arizona. concentrated in a close-knit community which is located on the interstate border.
As of last week, there have been 1,681 confirmed cases of measles in the United States in 2025. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionthe highest rate in more than 30 years.
Who determines the status of measles elimination in a country?
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)part of the WHO, determines whether a country in North, South or Central America has maintained its elimination status.
In 2019, PAHO created a group of independent experts, called the Regional Review Panel, to conduct an annual review of how countries can control the spread of measles.
A panel of experts met last week in Mexico City to review the latest measles data reported by countries with active outbreaks through October.
There are several criteria for losing an official. measles elimination statusincluding declining vaccination rates. The most significant factor is ongoing transmission of measles the same strain of virus for a year.
Canadian health officials will now have to develop a plan to get back on track, including increasing vaccination rates and “ensuring more effective overall surveillance efforts,” the agency wrote.
Measles is the most contagious virus known on the planet. The virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the room. Anyone in this room who hasn't been vaccinated against measles is likely to get sick.
