Health officials report that measles has affected 182 more individuals in Ontario in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 1,622 since the outbreak began in October.
According to Public Health Ontario, there have been 119 hospitalizations due to measles, with nine patients requiring intensive care.
Among those hospitalized, 95 percent were unvaccinated, including 89 children.
This marks the third week in a row that Ontario has seen new cases in the 200 range, which is notably high based on tracking by experts.
Dr. Ninh Tran from the Southwestern Public Health Unit described the recent increase in case numbers as “significant.”
This public health unit remains the focal point for most recent cases, though Tran mentions that most of these cases are no longer contagious.
He stated, “This week has seen the highest numbers, largely due to effective detection and considerable spread within households.”
Southwestern reported 104 new cases locally in the last week, indicating higher numbers than provincial statistics, likely due to differing reporting periods.
In Alberta, nearly 400 measles cases have been reported since mid-March, with over 120 cases involving children under five years old.
The highly contagious disease continues to primarily impact unvaccinated children, infants, and teenagers in both Ontario and Alberta.
