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The largest measles outbreak in the United States in more than 35 years has now ended, according to state health officials.
Cases were first reported in October 2025 in South Carolina and nearly 1,000 were confirmed over about six months, with more than 600 cases in 2026 alone. There were at least 21 hospitalizations and no reported deaths.
No new cases associated with the outbreak have been reported in more than 42 days, the South Carolina Department of Public Health reported on Monday.
This was not the only measles outbreak in the U.S., as more than 760 cases were reported in West Texas between January 2025 and August 2025, including the deaths of two children, before the outbreak was declared to be over.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said more than two-thirds of the reported cases were in children, and 99 people were hospitalized over the course of the outbreak.
At the time, it was touted as the largest outbreak the U.S. had seen in decades.
Despite the end of the outbreaks, the country is still on track to record even more cases this year, which would again make it the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
What is Canada’s measles status?
After Canada lost its measles elimination status on Nov. 10, 2025, there have been 907 reported measles cases in the country since the start of 2026, according to Health Canada’s measles and rubella weekly monitoring report.
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Among those cases, 834 have been confirmed, while 73 are listed as probable.
Manitoba currently has the highest number of reported cases this year with 556, followed by Alberta with 281, British Columbia and Ontario with 23, Nova Scotia with 10, Quebec with nine and Saskatchewan with five.
Canada saw 5,436 measles cases (4,777 confirmed, 361 probable) in 2025, two of which were fatal.
On Feb. 3, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) released an epidemiological alert urging countries, including Canada, to “prioritize strengthening routine surveillance and vaccination activities and to ensure a rapid and timely response to suspected cases” of measles.
PAHO’s new report found that out of all the reported measles cases in Canada, 98 per cent were exposed in Canada, and less than one per cent had an “unknown or under investigation source of exposure.”
“The sharp increase in measles cases in the Americas Region during 2025 and early 2026 is a warning sign that requires immediate and coordinated action by Member States,” the organization said.
As a result, PAHO urged “Member States to prioritize strengthening routine surveillance and vaccination activities and to ensure a rapid and timely response to suspected cases.”
“It also recommends implementing active community, institutional, and laboratory searches for early case identification, as well as developing complementary vaccination activities aimed at closing immunity gaps,” the report reads.
On March 31, the Manitoba government announced that pharmacists in the province can now administer a measles vaccine, effective immediately, to combat the outbreak.
Pharmacists will be permitted to provide an immunization to Manitobans between the ages of two and 19.
“This is a commonsense step that will help more Manitobans get protected,” Minister of Health, Seniors, and Long-term Care Uzoma Asagwara said.
“Pharmacists are trusted, accessible health-care providers in communities across Manitoba, and expanding their role makes it easier for families to get vaccinated and protect those most at risk.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
