Canada has lost its measles elimination status, said the Pan American Health Organization (Paho) on Monday, after failing to curb an outbreak of the virus for 12 consecutive months.
Because Canada is no longer deemed measles-free, the Americas region as a whole has lost its elimination status, although individually the other countries are still considered to have stamped out the disease.
The US, however, risks losing its status as well if it does not stop an ongoing outbreak by January. Related cases have now been reported in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina.
Canada's outbreak began last October, with health officials attributing it to fewer people being vaccinated against measles.
At a news conference on Monday, Paho officials appealed to Canadian governments and the public to ramp up vaccinations, noting that 95% of the population needs to be immunised to stop the spread of measles.
This loss represents a setback, but it is also reversible, said Dr Jarbas Barbosa, the health organisation's director.
The Public Health Agency of Canada said in its own statement that it is collaborating with Paho and regional health authorities to improve vaccine rates and strengthen data sharing.
Prior to Monday, Canada had been declared measles-free for three decades. It can regain its elimination status if it can curb spread of the measles strain associated with the current outbreak for at least 12 months.
The country has reported more than 5,000 measles cases in 2025, with most of them in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta. That is three times the 1,681 cases reported in the US, despite Canada's much smaller population.
Public health officials have highlighted that the bulk of the outbreak has been in under-vaccinated communities. Vaccination rates in Alberta, one of the provinces hit hard by the outbreak, are lower than the 95% threshold, according to provincial data.
Canadian immunologist Dawn Bowdish indicated that the reasons behind low vaccination rates include limited access to general practitioners, the absence of a national vaccination registry for checking immunisation status, and the spread of misinformation.
Dr. Bowdish stated, It highlights how many of our systems broke down to get us to this point, emphasizing the urgent need for systemic improvements to prevent future outbreaks.
The Americas is the first and only region in the world to have been declared measles-free, a status that was temporarily lost after outbreaks in Venezuela and Brazil but was regained through coordinated vaccination efforts.
Along with Canada and the United States, Mexico has also seen a surge in cases, contributing to significant outbreaks in North America, raising alarm among health officials.
