Canada No Longer Measles-Free After surge in Cases
Ottawa, Canada – Canada has lost its status as a measles-free country, a designation held for three decades, following a important increase in cases, with over 5,000 reported this year.The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) confirmed the change, citing ongoing transmission of the virus within communities.This marks a reversal of years of progress in eliminating the highly contagious disease and raises concerns about potential outbreaks and public health impacts.
The loss of “measles-free” status, earned when a country demonstrates sustained interruption of local virus spread, underscores vulnerabilities in vaccination coverage and public health infrastructure. While occasional imported cases are expected, the current outbreak signals a breakdown in community immunity, impacting vulnerable populations and perhaps leading to a resurgence of a disease once considered largely controlled. Regaining the status requires at least 12 months without evidence of ongoing transmission of the current measles strain.
Before this year’s surge, Canada had maintained measles elimination since 1993. Experts attribute the recent rise to several factors, including decreased vaccination rates, limited access to primary care physicians, and the spread of misinformation regarding vaccine safety. The absence of a national immunization registry, allowing individuals to easily verify their vaccination status, has also been identified as a contributing factor.
Canadian immunologist Dawn Bowdish of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, highlighted a lack of proactive public health outreach to address vaccine hesitancy and distrust. “This highlights how many of our systems were broken to get us to this point,” she told the BBC.
The situation underscores the importance of maintaining high vaccination rates to protect communities from preventable diseases. Public health officials are urging Canadians to ensure they and their families are up-to-date on measles vaccinations.
(KNA / KNA)
