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Measles deaths saw a huge drop this century thanks to global immunization efforts, but the number of cases surged in 2024, the World Health Organization says.
The United Nations public health body said Friday that, despite fewer deaths, cases climbed to an estimated 11 million last year, up nearly 800,000 from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Measles acts like a fire alarm for immunization programs,” said Dr. Kate O’Brien, WHO’s director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals. “High transmissibility means even small drops in vaccine coverage can trigger outbreaks, like a fire alarm going off when smoke is detected.”
Other vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough and polio are also likely to increase given gaps in routine vaccine coverage, she warned.
Measles deaths have fallen by 88 per cent since 2000, from a whopping 780, 000 then to 95, 000 in 2024, Diana Chang Blanc, unit head for WHO’s essential program on immunization, said at a news conference.
While that’s the lowest recorded number of deaths since 2000, most are children under age five, Chang Blanc said. “This simply doesn’t need to be the case.”
WHO attributed the decline in measles-related deaths to a higher number of infections in middle-income countries with a lower fatality ratio than in low-income countries, where children are more likely to die due to poorer nutrition and lack of access to health care.
Children living in fragile, conflict-inflicted places are worst affected by measles, the consequences of which can include brain infections that lead to permanent damage, deafness and blindness.
It can be prevented with two doses of the safe and highly effective vaccine, O’Brien said.
Canada’s struggle to control measles
Canada lost its measles elimination status earlier this month due to gaps in public health measures that allowed pockets of unvaccinated or undervaccinated people to transmit a strain of the virus for 12 months straight. Measles is highly preventable when places reach 95 per cent coverage with two doses.
Canada’s measles cases topped 5,000 in an outbreak that spanned multiple provinces and included two deaths of premature babies who were infected in the womb. Given the extent of cases, there are probably four or five children in the country who had a really bad complication, said Dr. Brian Ward, an infectious diseases microbiologist at McGill University Health Centre.
Asked what it will take for Canada to regain its measles elimination status, Ward suggested better communication, building trust with undervaccinated communities and fighting misinformation.
Parents say they trust their health-care provider in surveys, Ward said, but consistency and time are key.
“If we tell that person, they have 2½ minutes to talk to somebody about something as important as vaccines, we’re shooting ourselves in the kneecaps,” Ward said.
Canada has lost its measles elimination status after a sustained outbreak of the disease that’s lasted more than a year, leading to more than 5,000 infections and the death of two babies.
Canada’s outbreak this year wasn’t included in WHO’s data. The U.S. and Mexico also reported significant outbreaks in 2025.
U.S. funding cuts sting
WHO warned that deep funding cuts to the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network and country immunization programs could widen immunity gaps and drive further outbreaks in 2026.
Elsewhere, the U.S. government signalled its intent to pull out of WHO.
“They still haven’t left yet, but it’s been pretty significant,” Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of WHO’s department of epidemic and pandemic management, said in an interview with CBC News earlier this month.
“Globally, the reduction in funding from the U.S. to more than 70 countries has had a massive impact on life-saving interventions and life-saving programs,” Van Kerkhove said, pointing to USAID funding cuts and a reduction in technical expertise exchanges with U.S. government officials.
