Case of measles: Canada in the 1st row on the continent, according to an WHO agency

The Regional Agency for the World Health Organization (WHO) which covers North America and South America indicates that there has been an exponential increase in measles this year.

Dated August 8, it had recorded 10,139 confirmed cases of measles in ten countries, or a multiplication by 33 compared to the same period in 2024, when 311 cases had been identified.

Canada leads with 4,548 cases of measles, mainly in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.

According to the Pan American Organization of Health (OPS), this situation is mainly attributable to the low vaccination rates, the United States and Mexico who also experienced significant epidemics in the past year.

The health agency recommends that countries strengthen systematic vaccination and carry out targeted vaccination campaigns in high -risk communities.

The rate of vaccination coverage in the region is 79 % for the two necessary doses, which is lower than the rate of 95 % recommended to prevent epidemics.

Several deaths

Data from theOPS Indicate that 18 people died from the epidemic, 14 in Mexico, three in the United States and a newborn in Canada.

L’OPS Stresses that hatches have mainly occurred in Mennonite communities, but adds that recent data suggest an increase in the number of cases outside these groups.

In Mexico, theOPS Indicates that a mass vaccination campaign is underway in Chihuahua, where most of the 3,911 infections have been identified.

Aboriginal communities have been the hardest affected, with a lethality rate 20 times higher than in the general populationcan we read in the report.

The United States has reported out of the way in 41 jurisdictions, with a total of 1,356 cases.

It is important to note that these figures are dynamic and can evolve as countries continue to update their casesnoted the spokesperson Sebastian Oliel in an email.