The Pan American Health Organization has revoked Canada’s measles elimination status after nearly three decades, according to a report by Reuters.
Elimination status is defined as the absence of endemic measles transmission in a region for ≥ 12 months in the presence of a well-performing surveillance system, according to the CDC.
According to the report, Canada has recorded 5,197 measles cases in 2025, the most in 34 years since over 6,000 cases were reported in 1991.
Canada’s status change also means that the Americas region loses its elimination status, Reuters says.
Meanwhile, the United States maintains its elimination status but is currently in the midst of the country’s worst outbreak of measles since 1992. The CDC is currently reporting over 1,500 cases in the US in 2025.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000, according to the CDC.
