After 12 months of prolonged transmission that began in New Brunswick and took hold in Ontario and Alberta, Canada today lost its measles elimination status, as designated by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which is part of the World Health Organization.
The loss was announced during a PAHO webinar. By default, the Americas region, which had obtained measles elimination status, also lost that designation. Sustained transmission for 12 or more months with the same strain of the virus, drop in vaccination rates, and loss of surveillance can all contribute to the loss of elimination status, PAHO said.
"This loss represents a setback—but it is also reversible," said PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa, MD, PhD, MPH, in a statement.
"Until measles is eliminated worldwide, our Region will continue to face the risk of reintroduction and spread of the virus among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated populations. However, as we have demonstrated before, with political commitment, regional cooperation, and sustained vaccination, the Region can once again interrupt transmission and reclaim this collective achievement."
More than 5,000 cases in 1 year
Canada had eliminated measles in 1998, two years prior to the United States. But in the past year there have been more than 5,000 measles cases in the country.
In PAHO's Americas region, which includes the United States, measles cases have increased 30-fold in 2025 compared to 2024. Many experts warn that the United States will follow in Canada's footsteps in January 2026 and lose elimination status on the first anniversary of the beginning of a large West Texas measles outbreak.
As of last week, the United States has had 1,681 confirmed measles cases this year.
Canada must now go 12 months with interrupted measles transmission from the current outbreak strain to regain elimination status. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said today it will refocus its efforts on measles vaccine uptake.
"The measles vaccine is the best way to protect you and your family. By staying vigilant and working together to increase measles vaccine coverage, we can prevent outbreaks and keep our communities safe against this preventable disease," PHAC said in a statement following today's announcement.
Limited access, not only misinformation, played a role
Dawn Bowdish, PhD, a professor of medicine at McMaster University and executive director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, told CIDRAP News that it was an embarrassment for Canada to lose its measles elimination status.
Today speaks to a number of systems that have been strained and need to be supported.
"It's incredibly disappointing to be on this list [of countries with active measles outbreaks], because it's a list with countries torn apart by war and unrest," she said. "Today speaks to a number of systems that have been strained and need to be supported."
Bowdish said people want to attribute the measles resurgence in Canada to misinformation, but she said the issue is more often one of vaccine access and regional differences in healthcare. "We have challenges in having enough family doctors, and we have a lot of healthcare provincially administrated, and we've seen decreased public health funding and outreach to religious and rural communities," Bowdish said.
According to the latest updates from Canadian officials, 23 measles cases were reported in the last week of October, with 5,162 confirmed measles cases year-to-date. Two preterm infants who were exposed congenitally to measles have died.
