In the autumn, a measles outbreak began to take hold across Canada's provinces, and this week Ontario's count climbed by 78 cases in just two weeks, nearly doubling its total for the season. Measured against the 101 infections the province recorded across the entire decade from 2013 to 2023, the present wave is a reminder that a disease once held at bay can return when protection thins. The children most exposed are largely those who have not been vaccinated, and the story unfolds as the same virus claims a young life across the border in Texas. What the coming weeks reveal will depend on whet
Ontario's Measles Count Nearly Doubles as Interprovincial Outbreak Spreads Among Unvaccinated Children
18 children have been hospitalized in Ontario's outbreak, including one who required intensive care, and a child died in Texas.
Seventy-eight new cases in two weeks, in a province that saw 101 in a decade
Mark
Why does the comparison with 2013 to 2023 matter so much?
Mimi
Because it puts the scale in context. Ontario has 119 confirmed cases this year, and that already passes the 101 recorded over a full decade.
Luke
Careful, though. The 119 are lab-confirmed. The 23 probable cases are a separate category, and the 177 figure is the outbreak total since October, not this year's count.
Mark
So which number is the outbreak?
Mimi
The 177 in Ontario, tied to the interprovincial outbreak that also reached New Brunswick and Manitoba. Quebec's 27 cases are a separate outbreak that began in December.
Mark
And the children?
Mimi
Eighteen hospitalized, one in intensive care. Most of those infected are unvaccinated children and teenagers.
Luke
We don't know from this reporting how many of the 18 were unvaccinated, or their ages. The report says the disease has primarily infected unvaccinated young people, which is a general statement.
Mark
What about the Texas death?
Mimi
It's context, not a link. An unvaccinated child died there, the first U.S. measles death in a decade.
Luke
Right, and nothing here connects the Texas cases to Ontario's. The one case with a known origin was a child who caught it outside Canada.
Mark
What does the Public Health Agency of Canada point to?
Mimi
A global rise in measles, lower vaccination rates and more international travel, with vaccination as the best protection.
Der Puls
- Ontario's measles count has nearly doubled in two weeks, with 78 new cases pushing the province past its entire 2013–2023 total.
- An interprovincial outbreak tied to October's start now spans Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba, while Quebec battles a separate 27-case cluster.
- Eighteen children have been hospitalized in Ontario, one of them in intensive care, and the sickened are overwhelmingly unvaccinated young people.
- Texas has recorded a child death, the first U.S. measles fatality in a decade, and officials urge vaccination as the surest shield.
- The pace of new infections over the coming weeks will reveal whether the outbreak is slowing or still gathering force across provinces.
In the autumn, a measles outbreak began to take hold across Canada's provinces, and this week Ontario's count climbed by 78 cases in just two weeks, nearly doubling its total for the season. Measured against the 101 infections the province recorded across the entire decade from 2013 to 2023, the present wave is a reminder that a disease once held at bay can return when protection thins. The children most exposed are largely those who have not been vaccinated, and the story unfolds as the same virus claims a young life across the border in Texas. What the coming weeks reveal will depend on whether families and health authorities can close the gaps that let a preventable illness find its way back.
Ontario added 78 measles cases in the last two weeks, a surge that nearly doubles the province's count since the outbreak began in the autumn. The figures arrived Thursday, February 27, 2025, and they leave the province with 119 laboratory-confirmed cases and 23 more classed as probable. That is already more than the 101 infections recorded across Ontario from 2013 through 2023.
Almost all of the new cases trace back to an interprovincial outbreak that started in October. In Ontario alone it has sickened 177 people, and the virus has also taken hold in New Brunswick and Manitoba. Quebec has its own separate outbreak of 27 cases, which began in December.
The weight of the illness falls mostly on the young. Eighteen children have been hospitalized, and one needed intensive care. Most of those infected are unvaccinated children and teenagers. Measles is highly contagious, but it is preventable. One of Thursday's reported cases was an unvaccinated child who caught the virus outside Canada and had to be hospitalized.
The same week, an unvaccinated child died in Texas, the first U.S. measles death in a decade, and the disease continues to spread there. Public health officials point to a global rise in measles, lower vaccination rates and more international travel, and they say vaccination remains the best protection. The coming weeks will show whether the pace of the last two weeks holds.
Ontario added 78 measles cases in the last two weeks, a jump that nearly doubles the province's count since an outbreak began in the autumn. The figures were reported Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025.
The new numbers put Ontario's total for this year at 119 cases confirmed in a laboratory, plus 23 more classed as probable. That is already more than the 101 infections recorded across the whole province from 2013 through 2023.
Almost all of the new cases trace back to an interprovincial outbreak that started in October. In Ontario alone it has sickened 177 people. The virus has also spread in New Brunswick and Manitoba. Quebec, separately, has reported its own outbreak of 27 cases, which began in December.
The human cost is falling mostly on the young. Eighteen children have been hospitalized because of the outbreak, and one of them needed intensive care. The disease has primarily infected children and teenagers who are unvaccinated. Measles is highly contagious, but it is preventable.
One of the cases reported Thursday was an unvaccinated child who caught measles outside Canada and had to be hospitalized.
The same week, the United States recorded its first measles death in a decade. An unvaccinated child died in Texas, and the death was reported Wednesday. Measles is also spreading in the U.S.
Measles is airborne. It usually begins with a fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. A red, blotchy rash follows, starting on the face and moving to the body and limbs. The virus can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, and death.
The Public Health Agency of Canada attributes the current spread to a global rise in measles, lower vaccination rates, and more international travel. The agency says vaccination is the best protection. With the outbreak still producing cases in several provinces, the coming weeks of reporting will show whether the pace of the last two weeks holds.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The current spread is due to a global rise in measles, reduced vaccination rates and increased international travel; vaccination is the best protection.— Public Health Agency of Canada (paraphrased)
Möchten Sie die ganze Geschichte?
Das Original lesen bei SooToday ↗
Health & Medicine