Cases continue across Western Canada
It’s Amina Zafar here, a health writer with CBC News.
For the week ending Oct. 25, the latest available, the federal government reported 29 new measles cases in Canada, all confirmed.
Saskatchewan currently has the most new cases with 11, followed by B.C. with nine. Ontario declared an end to its large outbreak a little over a month ago, on Oct. 6. Alberta, which also had a large outbreak, currently has seven cases.
While measles elimination status is symbolic, doctors say the loss represents increased risk across the region of the Americas because communities and public health haven’t achieved control of long chains of transmission, like spreading beyond single digits in a family.
Low vaccination rates with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which has a long safety record, is the main driver of spread, both federal and provincial public health officials have said.
