The global spread of measles shows no signs of slowing down in 2026, including explosive outbreaks in travel hot spots like the southern U.S. and Mexico, prompting warnings from public health officials for Canadians to check their vaccination status before heading abroad this winter.
Mexico has reported more than 2,700 new cases so far this year, government data shows, with most infections detected among infants and young children. Meanwhile, more than 900 new confirmed cases have been identified across the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Measles case counts are soaring in Florida, fuelled by an outbreak involving roughly 60 cases at a university near Naples on the southwest coast, alongside a fast-growing outbreak in South Carolina that’s the country’s largest since the disease was eliminated more than two decades ago, with hundreds of infections reported to date.
Dozens of new infections have also been reported here in Canada to start the year, including a growing cluster of more than 70 cases and counting in Manitoba, mere months after the country lost its measles elimination status following a massive outbreak throughout 2025.
Speaking to CBC News, acting Chief Public Health Officer for Canada Dr. Natasha Crowcroft — who was previously the senior advisor on measles for the World Health Organization — said that the return of measles in Canada led to “devastating” impacts for many families.
Some children acquired brain infections or became deaf, and more than 30 children ended up needing intensive care during last year’s surge, she said. Two pre-term infants in Canada also died in 2025 after acquiring measles before birth.
With March Break travel around the corner, keeping more cases out of the country remains paramount in preventing additional outbreaks, Crowcroft stressed.
“When you go to check your passport, check your vaccination status,” she urged. “Things are going wrong in so many places … and one of the things that’s a bit different about the situation is it’s affecting countries that you don’t normally think of as being a risk for measles.”
40-fold spike in cases across Americas
During the first three weeks of the year, the Americas witnessed a 40-fold spike in measles cases compared to the same period in 2025, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) announced in early February.
Many European nations — such as the U.K., which also recently lost its elimination status — now also pose a heightened measles risk.
This highly contagious, airborne disease remains a potentially deadly threat, particularly for young children, pregnant individuals and anyone with a weakened immune system. While most people do recover, measles can range in severity, from a telltale rash to serious complications such as respiratory failure and permanent brain damage.
Health officials and medical experts pin the return of measles on multiple factors, including a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment and backsliding in routine childhood immunizations throughout many countries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investments in public health and immunization programs are crucial to keep measles in check, said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a senior public health advisor for the Los Angeles-based community health centre Wellness Equity Alliance and a former executive with the CDC.
Unfortunately in the U.S., the public health system has been “demolished” in recent years, creating mistrust in the public and an “ecosystem where people won’t get vaccinated,” said Daskalakis. That situation continues to have a spillover effect, driving global rhetoric that vaccines can’t be trusted, he added.
Vaccination coverage among kindergarteners across the U.S. dropped during the 2024 school year for all vaccines, including the measles shot, as compared to the year before, CDC data shows — while vaccine exemptions for that group went up from 3.3 per cent to 3.6 per cent.
In its recent measles alert, the PAHO noted that overall vaccination coverage with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot across the Americas showed a slight increase in 2024 compared to 2023 — from 87 to 89 per cent for the first dose, and from 76 to 79 per cent for the second dose — but remains below the 95 per cent target needed to prevent outbreaks.
That threshold is due to the fact that measles is one of the most infectious diseases ever seen, making it harder to control without incredibly high vaccination rates, explained Dr. Alon Vaisman, an infectious diseases specialist at the University Health Network in Toronto.
“Even a short-term exposure to an individual who has the infection can put you at risk if you are not immunized,” he said.
Most Canadians need 2 doses of measles vaccine
Given how many Canadian families may be travelling to Mexico and other measles hot spots in the months ahead, immunologist Dawn Bowdish said it’s crucial to stay up to date with vaccines, particularly for people who are pregnant or travelling with young children.
“Where it becomes problematic is when people are travelling with really young babies. We don’t vaccinate [infants] before 12 months in Canada unless there’s an outbreak … and unfortunately, those are the ones that are most at risk,” added Bowdish, an associate professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Concerned parents can ask their primary care provider for an early dose of the measles shot for infants as young as six months old, she noted, even though the standard timetable is to provide that first dose at 12 months.
“It means they need one extra dose, but there’s no problem with that, and it’s definitely worth the peace of mind,” said Bowdish.
Crowcroft, Canada’s top doctor, agreed, stressing it’s crucial to check the vaccination status of all members of your family prior to travelling.
The Canadian Immunization Guide notes routine childhood immunization for measles typically involves two doses of either the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine or the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) shot — with the first dose given between 12 to 15 months of age and the second between 18 months of age and “no later than around school entry.”
Kids and teens who haven’t yet been vaccinated against measles should also get two doses of a measles-containing vaccine. Adults born in or after 1970 may only need one dose, but those at a higher risk of measles exposure — such as people travelling abroad — should receive two doses as well.
Canada’s current country-wide outbreak, of more than 5,000 confirmed measles cases since early 2025, started with “one person coming back to Canada with measles,” Crowcroft said.
“So you don’t want to be that one person.”
