Public health nurse Lauri Bidinot demonstrates how to give a measles shot to a young girl at Southwestern Public Health in St. Thomas, Ont. on March 4.Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press
Nearly 200 new measles cases were identified in Ontario last week, in a sign the country’s most populous province is nowhere close to containing the spread of the highly contagious virus.
In its weekly surveillance report on Thursday, Public Health Ontario said that from last October until this Monday, the province has reported 1,440 cases in 17 public-health units. (Of those cases, 1,221 are confirmed while the other 219 are probable.)
The increase in the number of outbreak cases and the geographic spread in recent weeks stems from continued exposures and transmission among individuals who have not been immunized, the report said.
The spread of measles in Ontario and other jurisdictions, including Alberta, this year has been a source of concern among public-health officials. Earlier this week, Alberta announced plans to broaden existing online public-health guidance about measles and immunization to radio, print and digital platforms next week.
Measles is also making a global resurgence, including in Europe and the United States.
In recent decades, its spread has not been of central concern in Canada, owing to the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. In 1998, Canada deemed the vaccine-preventable disease to be eliminated.
The country could lose this elimination status if the current chain of transmission continues beyond October, the Public Health Agency of Canada recently warned.
With the spread of measles in the province since last fall, Ontario faces persistent calls, including from opposition parties, to be more forceful in its response.
The province has also seen a decline in recent years in vaccination rates among children under 7, with Public Health Ontario reporting that only 70 per cent were vaccinated against measles in 2023-24.
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Unlike Alberta and Nova Scotia, Ontario has not held a dedicated news conference on the issue. The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Kieran Moore, has not appeared alongside Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones to speak publicly about it.
Dr. Moore said in an interview that “it’s really about finding the right balance of communication to mainly the affected communities.” He said the more he speaks, the more fear can be created.
Dr. Upton Allen, division head for infectious diseases at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said cases have occurred in Southwestern Ontario where a large proportion of the population is unimmunized.
There are other areas of the province where individuals are more adequately vaccinated, he said, adding that it is important to approach the issue in a sensitive manner and to not point fingers.
“But the reality is that if you have populations where people are not vaccinated, and you bring in one case of measles, it spreads like wildfire,” he said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday that everyone should vaccinate their children, adding that the province purchased 150,000 units of vaccine and has launched a $2-million advertising campaign.
Ema Popovic, a spokesperson for Ms. Jones, said the government’s communications campaign is currently on social media and will soon be extended to radio and digital media. It will focus on the risk of measles and how it can be prevented through the MMR vaccine, with a higher concentration of advertising in Southwestern Ontario and Grand Erie, she said.
Liberal MPP Adil Shamji, an emergency physician, said Thursday that “no other jurisdiction on this continent is being asked to accept so many new cases of measles for the foreseeable future.”
He also accused the Premier of “scapegoating” religious communities and said vaccination rates are lower than they should be.
Mr. Ford said Wednesday that the government can’t force people to vaccinate their children, and that “certain communities” have refused immunizations for religious reasons. He didn’t specify which communities.
Dr. Moore has said the outbreak is affecting primarily rural farming populations in Southwestern Ontario and identified Mennonite, Amish and other Anabaptist communities.
Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles said Thursday that Mr. Ford and Ms. Jones “seem to be totally unfazed” by the measles surge.
