Canada loses its measles elimination status amid large outbreak

(CNN) — Canada has lost its measles elimination status amid a large, ongoing outbreak of the virus, Public Health Agency of Canada said Monday.

Canada’s health agency was informed by the World Health Organization that it had lost its measles elimination status after 12 months of uninterrupted transmission.

Canada has experienced on-going transmission of the virus since October 2024.

“PAHO’s Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission reviewed recent epidemiological and laboratory data, confirming sustained transmission of the same measles virus strain in Canada for a period of more than one year,” public health officials said in a statement from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

“Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status once trans