Canada is on the verge of losing the measles-elimination status it has held since 1998.

The World Health Organization’s definition of measles elimination requires transmission of the disease to stop within a 12-month period. Canada will cross that transmission threshold at the end of this month, following from an outbreak that started in October 2024.

Canada has tallied more than 5,000 cases this year, more than twice the amount of the cases recorded in the past 25 years combined.

As a result, this November, the Pan American Health Organization , a regional office of the World Health Organization office, will convene the annual meeting of its Measles and Rubella Elimination Regional Monitoring and Re-Verification Commission to determine Canada’s status .

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