Premature baby dies of measles in Alberta after pregnant mother contracts disease

EDMONTON — A newborn in Alberta has died of measles marking the province’s first death from the disease this year, the government said Thursday.

Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said the child was born prematurely and died shortly after being born. The mother had contracted measles during pregnancy.

“This is a heartbreaking loss, and no words can capture the pain of losing a child,” she said in a statement Thursday.

She added children, pregnant women and those with weakened immune systems face the greatest risk from measles.

“Since measles cases were first reported in Alberta this spring, I had hoped this moment would not come.”

It’s the second reported measles death in Canada this year. The latest update to Health Canada’s website on Monday reported one other measles death.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health said in June a baby infected with measles while in the womb died after being born prematurely. The mother was not vaccinated, and the infant had other serious medical complications.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization says measles during pregnancy can lead to serious complications, but measles-containing vaccines are not generally recommended for pregnant women.

LaGrange said anyone planning a pregnancy should ensure they have received two doses of vaccine before they conceive.

In July, Alberta recorded the most measles cases in North America on a per-capita basis.

The province’s website says there have been 1,910 cases since January, with 152 hospitalizations. Most infections have been in children.

As of Wednesday, there was one person in hospital with measles in Alberta.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on its website that, as of Tuesday, there have been a total of 1,544 confirmed measles cases in that country.

LaGrange said since Alberta launched a marketing campaign in April, measles immunizations have increased by 52 per cent compared to the same period last year.

But Alberta Opposition NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman, who has labelled the ruling United Conservative Party “anti-science,” said that isn’t enough.

The government should be making it easier for Albertans to get the measles vaccine and giving front-line health workers the resources they need to make it accessible, she said.

“This is so heartbreaking and it is completely preventable — if we have a government that steps up and shows the leadership,” said Hoffman.

“What I would love is for the government to have taken action a year before, so we didn’t have this outbreak, so that we didn’t see so many measles cases, and so that this child could still be alive today.”

LaGrange’s office declined to provide information about where in the province the baby died and when.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 2, 2025.

Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press