Canada has lost its status as a country that has eradicated measles due to a persistent epidemic that has lasted for a year and is severely affecting several regions and unvaccinated populations.
The country had declared this serious disease eliminated in 1998. But today it faces its strongest resurgence since then, largely due to rising skepticism towards vaccines among some of its population.
"The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has informed the Public Health Agency of Canada that Canada no longer has the status of a country that has eliminated measles," the Canadian Department of Health announced in a statement on Monday.
The cause: sustained transmission of the same strain of the virus in Canada that has persisted for more than 12 months, "mainly in under-vaccinated communities," the statement adds.
Between the beginning of the year and October 25, the country recorded 5,138 cases of measles, according to official figures out of a total population of 41 million.
Two newborns, born to unvaccinated mothers, also died from the virus.
– “Fragility of the system” –
Canada lost its status "because two-dose vaccination coverage fell below the threshold of 95% required to stop sustained transmission," Samira Jeimy of Western University told AFP.
The spread of the virus in under-vaccinated communities is, for experts, "a clear sign of the system's fragility," she added.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads through respiratory droplets and remains in the air for up to two hours after the infected person leaves.
It causes fever, respiratory symptoms and a skin rash, but it can also lead to serious complications.
The epidemic is disproportionately affecting certain Mennonite, Amish and other Anabaptist communities, partly due to lower vaccination rates within these populations.
But in Canada, the epidemic is not limited to these groups.
It also affects communities of new immigrants from developing countries, who have not continued their vaccination schedule after settling in Canada — sometimes due to a severe shortage of general practitioners in the country.
According to the statement, Canada will be able to regain its measles-free status once transmission of the currently circulating strain has been interrupted for at least 12 months.
– Vaccine resistance –
Other countries in the Americas, such as the United States and Mexico, are also facing a resurgence of the disease. However, the numbers are lower than in Canada, allowing them to maintain their status as countries that have eradicated measles for the time being, the Pan American Health Organization explained on Monday.
In the United States too, vaccine resistance has exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic, fueled in large part by unfounded claims linking vaccines to autism.
In recent months, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has played a major role in spreading these fears by repeating these false claims.
The country experienced its worst measles epidemic in over 30 years in 2025, with three deaths, including two children.
The proportion of children in kindergarten vaccinated against measles has thus increased, at the national level, from 95% in 2019 to 92.5% in 2024, with strong regional variations.
English 
French