Vaccination key to reducing measles transmission in the GTA: Infectious disease specialist

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch discusses the risk of measles cases increasing in the GTA.

An infectious disease specialist says it is inevitable to see more measles cases in the GTA.

Dr. Isaac Bogoch’s warning comes on the heels of a child in Hamilton contracting the disease earlier in March.

The Hamilton case is part of a wider outbreak in Ontario that began in the fall. The outbreak also involved cases from interprovincial travel, leading to infections in New Brunswick and Quebec. New Brunswick declared its outbreak over on Jan. 7, but Ontario’s continues to drag on.

As of Feb. 26, Ontario has 177 confirmed cases this year, according to a Public Health report.

The disease has mostly affected unvaccinated children and teens so far. Among the confirmed cases for 2025 are 18 children who required hospitalization.

Bogoch believes that “living in the most interconnected time in human history” makes these cases hard to avoid.

“The GTA is a major international hub. There’s a number of measles circulating around the world… someone’s going to land somewhere in the GTA with measles. EIther a Canadian that travelled abroad and picked it up and came home. Or a visitor to Canada. It’s just going to happen from time to time. What is not inevitable is transmission within the GTA,” he said.

A Feb. 27 case was an unvaccinated child who acquired measles while traveling outside of Canada.

Bogoch stressed the importance of vaccination as a way to prevent transmission from these cases.

Aside from Canada, the U.S. is also dealing with its own outbreak. The country’s first measles death since 2015 occurred in Texas Feb. 26.

Measles is an infection of the lungs, with symptoms that include a rash, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. Symptoms can show up seven to 21 days after exposure.

If you are unsure of your vaccination status Bogoch recommends contacting your family doctor or a public health clinic to either verify your status or arrange vaccination.