Canadian family reeling from baby’s measles diagnosis as outbreaks triplicate US cases
Morgan Birch, a mother from Alberta, was shocked when her four-month-old baby, Kimie, suddenly fell ill with a fever and rash. Initially, she suspected it might be a common side effect of immunizations or chicken pox. However, her 78-year-old grandmother recognized the symptoms as measles, a disease Ms. Birch thought had been eradicated. A lab test later confirmed her grandmother’s diagnosis: Kimie had contracted measles, likely during a routine hospital visit a few weeks prior.
Kimie is one of over 3,800 individuals in Canada infected with measles in 2025, a figure nearly three times higher than the number of confirmed US cases despite Canada’s smaller population. Canada now ranks eighth globally for measles outbreaks, with Alberta at the center of the current outbreak, having the highest per capita measles spread rate in North America. This raises questions on why the virus is spreading more rapidly in Canada than in the US and whether Canadian health authorities are doing enough to contain the outbreaks.
The hardest-hit provinces have been Ontario and Alberta, followed by Manitoba. In Ontario, the outbreak began in late 2024 at a large Mennonite gathering in New Brunswick, and then spread in Low German-speaking Mennonite communities in the province’s southwest, areas with historically lower vaccination rates due to religious or cultural beliefs against immunization. Almost all those infected were unvaccinated.
Catalina Friesen, a healthcare worker at a mobile clinic serving the Mennonite population near Aylmer, Ontario, stated she had never seen measles in her community before. Cases spread rapidly from that point, reaching a peak of more than 200 a week across Ontario by late April. While new confirmed cases have since dropped sharply in Ontario, Alberta has emerged as the next hotspot. There, the spread happened so quickly that health officials were unable to pinpoint exactly how or where the outbreak began.
Experts say it’s challenging to pinpoint why measles have spread wider in Canada than in the US, but many agree that cases in both countries are likely underreported. The main driver of the outbreak is low vaccination rates. In general, studies show that vaccine hesitancy has risen in Canada since the pandemic, and the data reflects that. In southern Alberta, for example, the number of MMR vaccines administered has dropped by nearly half from 2019 to 2024. Pandemic-related disruptions also left some children behind on routine immunizations, with measles having been largely eliminated, families likely did not prioritize getting their kids’ vaccinations up to date.
That opposition has since expanded to other vaccines, prompting the so-called “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa where truckers gridlocked the city for two weeks in 2021. Health units across the country have tried to encourage people to get vaccinated through public bulletins and radio advertisements. However, the response is notably more muted than that during the Covid-19 pandemic, health officials say.
Kimie has since slowly recovered, but she continues to be monitored for potential long-term effects of the virus. Her mother, Ms. Birch, expressed sadness, horror, frustration, and annoyance at those choosing not to vaccinate their children, calling on people to heed public health guidelines and protect the ones that can’t protect themselves, stating, “My four-month-old shouldn’t have gotten measles in 2025.”
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g8d39gdr0o
