Health experts warn that the United States may not be far behind<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, Oct. 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Canada may lose its measles<\/a> elimination status amid a yearlong outbreak that has infected more than 5,000 people and killed two infants, health officials said this week.<\/p>\n The outbreak began in October 2024 in New Brunswick and has now spread across multiple provinces. It is Canada\u2019s first continuous measles transmission in more than 25 years. <\/p>\n Canada eliminated measles in 1998.<\/p>\n \u201cTo really say that a country has lost the status, it takes 12 months of continuous transmission with the same genotype and the same strain of the virus,\u201d Daniel Salas, an immunization expert with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), told NBC News<\/em>.<\/p>\n PAHO, which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO), meets next week in Mexico City to review data and decide whether to strip Canada of its measles-free status. <\/p>\n If it is revoked, officials said, the country will need to implement a \u201ccorrective action plan\u201d to regain it.<\/p>\n Health experts warn that the United States may not be far behind. The U.S. has reported at least 1,618 measles cases so far this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC), the most since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.<\/p>\n The current U.S. outbreak began in West Texas in January, infecting more than 800 people across Texas and New Mexico, and has since spread to other states, including Arizona, Utah and South Carolina. <\/p>\n Three deaths have been confirmed, including two young girls.<\/p>\n However, the U.S. is unlikely to lose its elimination status during the upcoming PAHO meeting because its outbreak began less than 12 months ago.<\/p>\n The possibility of losing elimination status in Canada is \u201ca wake-up call that we need to do better in vaccinating our general public so we don\u2019t have outbreaks like this,\u201d Dr. Isaac Bogoch<\/a>, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto, said in an interview with CTV News<\/em>.<\/p>\n The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine remains highly effective, according to the CDC, preventing infection in 97% of people after two doses. It is typically given around ages 1 and 5.<\/p>\n The elimination of measles in the U.S. and Canada \u201cwas a huge achievement,\u201d Salas said. \u201cWhen we say that we sustain the elimination as a region, we are also acknowledging each country for their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Health Organization (WHO) has more on measles<\/a>.<\/p>\n