The growth of measles in Canada and other parts of the world should be a significant medical concern.
Though the number of confirmed cases is only a small percentage of the world’s population – with 10.3 million confirmed in 2023 – the preventable nature of the disease is one that highlights the continued growth of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, some have chosen to turn their backs on modern medical science. Rather than trust a trained and well-educated physician, some have listened to the crazy uncle at Thanksgiving Day dinner or a 30-second clip from a random person on social media.
Those poor decisions by some can and are leading to negative consequences for others, with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) declaring in 2022 that at least 25 million children missed getting at least one of two doses of the measles vaccine.
UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell called it a “red alert for child health” as millions of children continue to be unvaccinated for measles across the world.
The COVID-19 pandemic not only led to a growth in vaccine hesitancy, but it led to many missing getting their measles vaccinations. For example, from 2020-22, the WHO’s European Region estimated more than 1.8 million infants weren't vaccinated.
In Alberta, confirmed cases of measles exposure hit 724 as of Tuesday (June 3). The bulk of those, however, are in the southern AHS zone that includes Medicine Hat and Lethbridge and has the smallest population of all five health zones.
Nearly half of the confirmed cases are in the five to 17 age category, but roughly two-thirds are those up to 17 years old.
In the Bow Valley, a confirmed case from Calgary made its way locally in April when a person was visiting Banff and Canmore.
A health advisory from Alberta Health Services’ Calgary Zone noted measles are an “extremely contagious disease” and spread easily to other people.
With millions of people visiting the valley each year – particularly in the summer – the potential for another confirmed case is all the more likely.
Measles is extremely contagious and spreads through the air, giving someone who isn’t vaccinated a high probability of becoming infected if they come into contact with someone who has it.
Throughout the world, measles outbreaks are increasing.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the top 10 list of countries with the highest number of cases are mainly developing countries such as Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
However, they’re also growing in developed nations. In 2024, the WHO and UNICEF indicated 127,350 measles cases were reported in Europe, which is the highest since 1997 and double what was recorded in 2023.
Though it found countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania had less than 80 per cent of eligible children receive the measles vaccine, outbreaks have also taken place in France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and The Netherlands.
In the United States, 1,088 are reported through the CDC – an agency ravaged by cuts under President Donald Trump – in 33 states. Of those, the majority are people who are 19-years-old and under. There have been three confirmed deaths from measles.
Health Canada has at least 2,755 cases, with the bulk in Ontario and Alberta.
In 2023, the WHO estimated 107,500 people – mostly five and under – died from measles.
Fortunately, for those not wanting to get measles, there’s a medical aid known as a vaccine that’s not only free, but also extremely effective at stopping a measles infection.
It utilizes decades of medical science and knowledge to create a thing known as medicine that can literally save lives.
When such an option is available, it would be foolish to continue to turn your back when the answer is in front of people.
