Measles: Monitoring
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How Canada monitors measles
Measles is a nationally notifiable disease in Canada. That means that every confirmed case of measles gets reported to the Public Health Agency of Canada for national monitoring purposes.
Health care providers and labs report cases to their local public health unit or office. These reports are then forwarded to provincial and territorial public health officials, and then to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Canadian Measles and Rubella Surveillance System collects detailed information on every case. The Measles and Rubella Weekly Report shows the number of cases reported by provinces and territories each week.
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How measles outbreaks happen
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases. Vaccination rates in Canada are high but below the level needed for community immunity in some areas.
The risk of an outbreak is highest when:
- a person gets infected in an area or region where measles is circulating and travels to another area while infectious
- a lot of people who aren’t immune or who are unvaccinated are clustered together in regions or communities when measles is introduced
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases. Vaccination rates in Canada are high but below the level needed for community immunity in some areas.
Canada has established vaccination coverage goals. These goals help to ensure the best possible protection against vaccine-preventable diseases and help create community immunity.