Measles outbreak over in Canada, PHAC says.

It's been a waiting game these last two months as public health officials monitored the situation, wondering if any new cases would be reported. Because there were no new infections, the outbreak, which started in October of 2024, was declared over by the Public Health Agency of Canada. It is a big deal and I felt a sense of relief. It's been a tough go for Canada these last two years, with public health teams doing everything they can to stop measles from spreading. In the end, more than 6,400 cases were reported across 10 provinces and territories. The majority of cases occurred in people who had not been vaccinated against the highly contagious disease. We do have some increase in vaccine hesitancy following the pandemic. However, the outbreak occurred predominantly in populations that are historically under-vaccinated. So we really rely on our local public health unit partners and health care providers to work with those local communities to try to meet them where they're at, try to address any questions. Because the outbreak strain continued to spread for more than 12 months, Canada lost its global measles elimination status in 2025. Now the work begins to try and regain that designation, which the country held for 27 years up until that point. In order for us to regain that elimination status, the Pan American Health Organization Verification Commission needs to verify that there is no endemic transmission in Canada for a 12-month period, that we have a strong surveillance system, and that we also have adequate immunization coverage to ensure that there are no future outbreaks. Catherine Ward, Global News, Toronto.