As of November 24 of this year, there had been 300 confirmed cases of measles in Northern BC.
Meanwhile, the Fraser Valley has seen 41 cases, Interior Health 19 cases, Vancouver area, ten, and the Island only four.
Of the 331 cases in the North, nearly all of them (285) have been in the Northeast, with the majority of those happening in the North Peace.
Of the three active cases in the province, only one is in the Northeast.
Nearly half the cases have been in kids ages 5–17.
And, of all the cases, 21 of those (six percent) had recieved two valid doses for measles. Another eight (two percent) had recieved one dose of the measles vaccine. Of the rest, 86 percent (or 320) had not been vaccinated.
The good news is that, despite the high number of measles cases, there have been no deaths.
There is an ongoing measles outbreak in Canada. The multi-jurisdictional outbreak began in New Brunswick in October 2024, says the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), with a case that was exposed to measles outside of Canada and has continued to spread in several jurisdictions. To date, the majority (more than 95 percent) of measles cases reported in Canada in 2025 have been linked to this outbreak.
In BC, 372 confirmed and probable cases, or 93 percent of all the cases reported in 2025 are thought to be linked to this outbreak, though numbers and proportions may change as case investigations are completed and information is updated.
Measles is a highly contageous, preventable disease, most notable for red spots or a rash that develops.
If a person who is not immune is exposed to someone with measles in a shared living space, there is a 90 percent chance they will get the disease.
Death rates for measles are low in Canada, typically around three deaths per 1000 cases. In addition, about one person per 1000 cases develops acute encephalitis, which often results in permanent brain damage.
As well, there is evidence that measles can adversely affect your immune system, causing damage to a person’s immune memory, which can lead to a person contracting other diseases, including diseases that a person was previously innoculated against.
In underdeveloped nations, death rates are much higher, with sometimes as many as 280 deaths per 1000 cases.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
