Peel Public Health investigates new confirmed case of measles detected on Toronto-bound flight

Dr. Kieran Moore speaks about the need for high levels of immunization to protect against measles as cases continue to rise.

Peel Public Health (PPH) is investigating a new case of measles that was detected on a Toronto-bound Air Canada flight earlier this week, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the region to six this year.

The health unit said anyone who was onboard Flight AC540 from Seattle to Toronto on May 3 or who was at Toronto Pearson’s Terminal 1 from about 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. might have been exposed to the virus.

PPH says it will directly contact anyone who might have been exposed, if possible, and urges anyone who believes they might have been exposed to check their vaccination records to ensure they are up to date with their measles immunizations.

Additionally, the health unit says anyone experiencing symptoms—such as high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes or a red rash that’s been lasting for at least four days—should contact their health care provider as soon as possible.

“Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads easily to those who are not immunized or have not previously had measles,” PPH said in Wednesday’s release.

The health unit says there have been six confirmed cases of measles in the region this year, which is more than double what they saw in all of 2024.

Of all the confirmed cases, Peel Public Health says three were related to travel and three were transmitted from either close contacts or community spread.

“Peel’s cases are not known to be connected to the current multi-jurisdictional measles outbreak in Ontario,” officials wrote.

More than 1,240 measles cases in Ontario since October, PHO says

Public Health Ontario says there have been more than 1,240 confirmed and probable cases in the province since mid-October. The agency adds most cases—about 77 per cent—have been seen in infants and 84 people have been hospitalized so far. This is an astronomical jump from the mere seven cases the province saw in 2023.

Some parents who are skeptical about vaccinating their children have been blamed for the latest outbreak in the province.

“The vast majority of cases in Ontario that are occurring are occurring in children, adolescents—95 per cent of them are unvaccinated,” Dr. Kieran Moore, the province’s chief medical officer of health, told CP24 in an interview earlier this week.

The province says they are doing all they can to combat the measles outbreak.

“We’re throwing everything and the kitchen sink at this,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park on Wednesday, adding that the province has made 150,000 doses available through public health units.

Sylvia Jones, the province’s health minister, also defended the province’s response to the ongoing outbreak, disagreeing with the assertion that the government’s response has been a failure.

With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman