OUTBREAK: Measles cases among unvaccinated children on the rise in Ontario [Video]

Knock on wood, but Durham Region has not recorded a single case of measles this year while the highly infectious disease – once thought nearly eradicated – sweeps through the province as more and more children remain unvaccinated.

More than 1,622 cases have been reported in Ontario since a travel-related case from New Brunswick led to an outbreak in Ontario in October. In contrast, there were just 101 cases in the ten years between 2013 and 2023.

Public Health Ontario’s measles is reporting 101 hospitalizations, including 75 children, with eight patients in intensive care. In the last week alone there have been 182 new cases reported.

Measles has mostly infected unvaccinated children, infants and teenagers – more than three-quarters of all cases in Ontario – with almost 500 cases located in Ontario’s southwestern public health unit, with Windsor Essex the worst area for the disease.

Most cases of measles have …