Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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Measles data from the World Health Organization show that Canada has half the number of confirmed cases as the United States, despite having a population only about one-tenth the size of its neighbour.
WHO says 47,459 measles cases have been confirmed across the Americas as of July 18, which is three times higher than the total reported cases all of last year in the region.
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The United States has 2,260 of those cases, while Canada has confirmed 1,107.
The WHO says the disease has claimed 45 lives so far this year in the Americas, largely in Guatemala and Mexico.
It says in an alert that the Americas need to strengthen their vaccination, surveillance and rapid outbreak response measures amid rising measles cases across the region.
“Measles leaves no room for complacency. We know how to stop it: achieving high vaccination coverage, detecting suspected cases early, and responding rapidly to interrupt chains of transmission,” said Daniel Salas, the executive manager of WHO’s regional office for the Americas called the Pan American Health Organization, in a news release.
“Every outbreak exposes immunity gaps that must be urgently addressed, particularly among children, under-vaccinated communities, and populations with limited access to health services.”
From March 14, 2025 to July 15, 2026, a total of 131 measles cases were reported in Saskatchewan, and the province declared its measles outbreak over in March after meeting the 46-day threshold with no new cases.
The province says the next measles report will be published on Aug. 13.
PAHO said North and South America are seeing their highest number of confirmed cases in more than two decades.
Roughly 186,000 measles cases have been reported worldwide as of July. That’s a 12 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
Canada officially lost its measles elimination status in early November 2025.
The country eliminated measles in 1998 and maintained that status for more than 25 years, meaning there was no ongoing community transmission and new cases were travel-related.
The Pan American Health Organization revoked the status after confirming there has been ongoing transmission of the same strain of measles for more than one year.
But since Oct. 27, 2024, the virus has spread to more than 5,000 people in Canada, including two infants in Ontario and Alberta who were infected with measles in the womb and died after they were born.
Public health and infectious disease experts attribute the return of measles to declining vaccination rates, stemming from misinformation-fuelled vaccine hesitancy and distrust of science, as well as the disruption of routine immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
— with files from CJME News
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