Canada Loses Measles Elimination Status After Nearly 30 Years
The Pan American Health Organization announced that Canada has officially lost its measles elimination status after almost three decades due to ongoing outbreaks.
The Pan American Health Organization announced that Canada has officially lost its status as a measles-free country after nearly 30 years of elimination. The decision comes after measles outbreaks continued for over a year, leading to the loss of measles elimination status for the entire Americas region, which had achieved this milestone in 2016.
Canada recorded over 5,000 cases across nine provinces and one territory, prompting the organization to remove it from the list of measles-free countries.
Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa described the setback as temporary but reversible, stating that Canada could regain its status if it stops transmission for 12 consecutive months without linked cases.
Experts view this loss as a warning sign of declining vaccine confidence since the COVID-19 pandemic. Measles is easily preventable if vaccination coverage exceeds 95%, the threshold for herd immunity.
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, highlighted that the crisis reflects gaps in public health education and barriers preventing some populations from accessing vaccines, calling for intensified awareness campaigns and improved vaccination services.
The Public Health Agency of Canada noted that outbreaks are concentrated in communities with low vaccination rates and is working to increase coverage and strengthen monitoring and reporting systems.
Amish Adalja, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, warned that losing elimination status is a step backward toward eras when infectious diseases were common, urging urgent action to prevent measles from becoming endemic again.
Similar spikes in measles cases have been reported in the United States, Mexico, and several European countries amid global declines in vaccination rates.
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