Measles outbreak in Ontario grows to more than 140 cases
A measles outbreak in Canada’s Ontario province continues to grow, with health officials reporting more than 140 cases on Thursday, making it the most severe outbreak in decades.
Public Health Ontario said in an update that so far this year, it has seen a total of 119 confirmed and 23 probable cases of the highly infectious disease, with all but two associated with an ongoing multijurisdictional outbreak that began in the fall.
The officials have traced the outbreak back to a travel-related case in New Brunswick on Oct. 18. While the maritime province has since declared its outbreak over, Ontario continues to battle transmission.
A total of 177 cases have been reported in Ontario going back to October, but infections have spiked since the middle of last month.
A breakdown of the cases shows that 141 patients are 19 years of age of younger. Among children and adolescents, 97.9% were unimmunized. Eighteen of the cases have required hospitalization, including one case that needed intensive care, officials said.
More than 90% of the cases are in the jurisdictions of Southwestern Public Health and Grand Erie Public Health
The outbreak is an anomaly in Ontario where measles cases are generally rare.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the province saw between seven and 22 cases a year, Public Health Canada said, with 101 confirmed cases reported between 2013 and 2023.
Last year, there were 37 cases associated with the ongoing outbreak, officials said.
The outbreak in Ontario continues to grow as Texas battles one of its own.
On Wednesday, Texas health officials reported their first death to measles since 2015.