Olivia Grandy
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Although not a hot spot for the measles in comparison to Alberta and Ontario, a University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist says the province should still be concerned about Canada losing its nearly three-decade-long status as a country that had eliminated the virus.
“It is a wake-up call for all of us that we have an issue,” said Nazeem Muhajarine, who is also a professor of community health.
“We need to do more to communicate the importance of getting vaccines.”
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is the World Health Organization’s regional office for countries in North and South America. It revoked Canada’s status after confirming that the same strain of measles had ongoing transmission in Canada for more than one year, according to an announcement from the federal health agency.
Canada has held measles elimination status since 1998. The first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963.
Measles is a highly-contagious virus that spreads through contaminated surfaces and in droplets. It begins with cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose and cough, developing into a recognizable red dot-like rash by the third or fourth day, Muhajarine said.
He emphasized that measles is significantly more contagious than COVID-19.
Canada’s outbreak began in New Brunswick in October 2024 and spread to other provinces, infecting more than 5,000 people. So far this year, there have been 107 cases in Saskatchewan, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s website.
Muhajarine said 107 is proportional to Saskatchewan’s population, which makes up roughly three per cent of the country’s population.
However, he said urgent action is still necessary.
“In absolute numbers, it is still a lot of cases, and we need to do something about it.”
Room for progress on public outreach: expert
To Muhajarine, this loss of status is a sign of a larger issue: the erosion of public trust in government, health authorities and researchers.
“(A lack) of trust is at the heart of this issue of vaccine hesitancy.”
The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health said these cases are generally from pockets with low vaccination rates. Out of the 107 cases, 95 of those who contracted the virus were unvaccinated. Just six of those cases were ineligible for vaccination due to age.
“The recent resurgence of measles in Canada and Saskatchewan is largely due to transmission among communities with low vaccination uptake,” the ministry said in an emailed statement to the StarPhoenix.
Muhajarine said these communities exist in a variety of contexts in the province, but avoiding stigmatization of these groups is key.
“Some of these (vaccine-hesitant) communities are isolated culturally, in terms of religion, and so on, and some others are not,” he said, noting the presence of these attitudes in urban settings.
“How do we actually overcome this without stigmatizing, without sort of pointing the finger in an accusatory way or anything like that?”
Collaborating with leaders in these communities is the place to start, Muhajarine said.
He also called on public health leaders to step up community outreach work. and for Canada to develop a national vaccine registry so people can easily find out if they’re up to date.
“We are long overdue for a data-sharing system — from coast to coast to coast — on vaccines,” he said.
“Vaccination is the single, most effective way to prevent measles, and in Saskatchewan it is available free of charge as part of our province’s routine childhood immunizations program,” the ministry noted.
