Canada's Measles Free Status In Jeopardy, as Mexico and the United States

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that measles is a highly contagious viral disease and remains a significant cause of death among young children worldwide, despite the availability of effective vaccines.

In recent years, there have been outbreaks of measles in the northern hemisphere.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is scheduled to hold its annual Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission meeting in early November 2025 in Mexico City. This meeting will address the measles elimination status of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Health Canada recently confirmed that the meeting is expected to determine Canada's measles elimination status, which the country has maintained since 1998. Canada's deadline for continuous transmission of the virus expired at the end of October 2025.

Over the past year, Canada has reported over 5,109 cases of measles in 10 jurisdictions (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

Ontario leads these jurisdictions with 2,390 measles cases.

While the PAHO is focused on Canada, both Mexico and the USA are also at risk of losing their measles-free status.

And in Latin America, as of epidemiological week 40, 11 countries have reached or are close to reaching the target rate of ≥2 suspected cases per 100,000 population.

PAHO/WHO recommends individuals who have not been previously vaccinated should consider receiving one dose of the yellow fever vaccine (recommended for people aged 12 months to 59 years) at least 10 days before travel, and the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella — for those 12 months and older) at least 15 days before travel to Brazil.

As of October 31, 2025, the U.S. CDC has not implemented travel restrictions for Canada or Mexico, but it highly recommends vaccination before traveling abroad.