Measles outbreak: Canada sees highest number of cases in past nine years

A measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is shown on a countertop at a pediatric clinic in Greenbrae, Calif. on Feb. 6, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Eric Risberg)

Thirty new measles cases were reported this week in Canada, most of them in New Brunswick.

That brings the total number of cases reported in Canada to 130 in 2024, a significant jump from the 12 total cases reported last year.

The latest data, published Friday, tracks cases reported Nov. 3 – 9, 2024. The majority of the cases are in New Brunswick and are part of a larger outbreak that has seen 44 people contract measles in the Fredericton and Upper Saint John River Valley area.

The New Brunswick infections are all related to one case linked to international travel, and none of those infected had been immunized against measles, according to health officials.

Three cases were also detected in Ontario this week, which has reported 34 cases to date. Six provinces have reported cases this year, including Quebec with 53, and Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan with one each.

The 130 cases reported so far in 2024 eclipses the 113 reported in 2019 and is the highest number of cases Canada has seen since 2015.

One child under the age of five died from measles in Hamilton, Ont., earlier in the year. The death was the first the province had seen since it began tracking in 1989.

So far, 65 per cent of measles cases have been in unvaccinated individuals, with a further 18 per cent having unknown vaccination status.