Canada’s top doctor is encouraging un- and under-vaccinated Canadians to seek protection against measles as cases of the incredibly contagious illness rise in Ontario and Quebec.
This week, Theresa Tam, the country’s chief public health officer and the second-in-command at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said that Canada is experiencing an uptick in measles activity associated with outbreaks in Canada’s two largest provinces. Adding that the outbreaks were initially associated with travel, PHAC’s statement says people have also been infected after exposure to the virus in Canada.
As recently as last week, Toronto Public Health warned that residents might have been exposed to the virus on Turkish Airlines Flight TK17 (Istanbul to Toronto), which arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Jan. 22.
According to a Jan. 16 report by Public Health Ontario, 65 cases (39 confirmed and 26 probable) of measles have been reported in the province in 2024 and 2025, with two …