Canada loses measles-free status after year of continuous transmission
Canada has officially lost its measles elimination status after a year of continuous transmission, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in a statement, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent. The decision also means that the entire region of the Americas is no longer considered measles-free.
The Americas became the first region in the world to eliminate measles in 2016 after a 22-year vaccination campaign. PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa described the recent setback as serious but reversible.
“This loss represents a setback—but it is also reversible,” he said at a press briefing.
According to PAHO, Canada has confirmed 5,162 measles cases this year. In response, the Public Health Agency of Canada said it was working with PAHO and national authorities to “improve vaccination coverage, strengthen data sharing, enhance surveillance and provide evidence-based guidance.”
“Canada can re-establish its measles elimination status once transmission of the strain linked to the current outbreak is interrupted for at least 12 months,” the agency added.
Active outbreaks have also been reported in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay, and the United States. U.S. health officials warn that if current outbreaks in South Carolina and Utah are connected to an earlier one that began in Texas, the U.S. could also lose its measles-free status for the first time in 25 years.
Earlier, it was reported that in July, Kazakhstan’s Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee affirmed that the epidemiological situation across the country remained stable during the first six months of this year, including cases of measles and whooping cough.