Ontario reports 78 new measles cases in the last two weeks, almost doubleing the total count of the province since an outbreak began in autumn.
The new cases carry the total ontarium this year to 119 that were confirmed in a laboratory and 23 that are considered “probable”, exceeding the 101 total infections recorded in the province between 2013 and 2023.
Almost all new cases are connected with an interprovincial outbreak that began in October, which has ill 177 people in Ontario and also saw the virus spread in New Brunnswick and Manitoba. Quebec has also reported an outbreak of 27 cases that began in December.
As a result of the outbreak, 18 children have been hospitalized, including one that required intensive care.
Measles declared himself eradicated in Canada in 1998, but with the fall of vaccination rates, new cases are increasing; 95 people have been infected in the first two months of this year, compared to 147 for all 2024.
The highly contagious, but preventable disease has mainly infected children and adolescents who are not vaccinated.
One of the cases reported on Thursday was in a non -vaccinated child who acquired measles out of Canada and required hospitalization.
The United States is also seeing the spread of measles, marking its first measles death in a decade on Wednesday after a non -vaccinated child died in Texas.
Measles is a disease in the air that usually begins with fever, cough, nasal secretion and red aqueous eyes, followed by a red stained eruption that begins in the face and spreads to the body and the limbs. The virus can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and death.
The Canada Public Health Agency says that current propagation is due to a global increase in measles, a reduction in vaccination rates and an increase in international trips. They say that vaccination is the best protection path.
