Canada could lose its measles elimination status if spread lingers, public health advisor says [Video]

A senior medical advisor with the Public Health Agency of Canada says the country could lose its measles elimination status if the highly contagious disease continues to spread into the fall.

Dr. Marina Salvadori warned of the possibility Thursday as cases in Ontario grew by nearly 200 infections, adding that would only occur if prolonged spread continued beyond mid-October 2025.

“That could happen. But I think that when people hear ‘lose elimination status,’ they have a lot of fear that measles will re-establish itself again and be common, and we will all be exposed to it through the next decades,” said Salvadori, noting it does not have to mean measles is here to stay.

Even if elimination …