HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health says an adult in Halifax contracted measles after they travelled to the U.S. – marking the first recorded measles infection in the province since 2023.
Dr. Robert Strang told a news conference Tuesday the individual had the standard single dose of vaccine, but not a second shot, which he said is now considered necessary for full immunization. The province had been expecting the virus to pop up, given ongoing outbreaks in North America and other parts of the world, he said.
"The health system is well prepared," Strang said, adding that public health is reaching out to anyone who was in contact with the individual while they were infectious. The person has been discharged from hospital.
"We will get more cases of measles coming in from travel. But if we have high immunization rates, it will not spread," Strang said, urging all Nova Scotians to get fully immunized if they have not already.
Strang said that for many years one dose of the measles vaccine was standard, but scientific evidence now shows that people need two doses of the “highly effective” and safe vaccine for full immunization. People born between 1970 and 1995 were generally offered just one dose of the measles vaccine as infants, and they should get a second shot, Strang said.
Those born in 1969 or earlier are considered immune, but can receive a single dose of the measles vaccine if planning to travel outside of Canada. Children born in Nova Scotia in 1996 and later should have already received both doses, Strang said.
"I recognize that people may not have a vaccine record; if you don't and you're not sure, get the one or two doses of vaccine. There's no harm or risk from getting vaccine when you actually had got a vaccine 20, 30 years ago," he said.
Strang said the infected person had visited a part of the U.S. that has not been recognized as having a measles outbreak.
"Which points out that when you travel beyond Canada … your risk of being exposed to measles is now increased, even if it's various parts of the United States, because measles is clearly spreading beyond the known outbreak in Texas, and we've had a resurgence of measles in various parts of the world," he said.
The federal government's weekly report on measles released Friday says that as of April 19, there have been 1,177 cases of measles identified in Canada so far this year. The majority – 993 of these cases – have been detected in Ontario, and 120 were recorded in Alberta.
In the week from April 13-19, 108 new cases of measles were reported across Canada. This year's spike in measles goes well above the 147 cases detected in 2024, and the 12 cases reported in 2023. There were only three cases of measles in 2022 and none in 2021.
Strang said that while Nova Scotia's vaccination data is incomplete, there are some early indications that residents may be getting fewer vaccines in the years since COVID-19 immunization was mandatory for travel.
"We are concerned with some of the potential drops in the data we have, but we need to also improve the data," he said.
Strang said that on a global scale, there are a number of reasons for the increased prevalence of measles.
"There's (public health) breakdowns from war and also dislocations of populations where we have large refugee camps … where measles is part of the picture … but quite frankly, we've had decades of a non-scientific approach that's been pushed and promoted around this vaccine. This is a safe, effective vaccine," he said.
The chief medical officer said he's concerned about the prevalence of disinformation shared on social media and elsewhere that questions the safety and efficacy of vaccines, or incorrectly claims that vaccines are linked to a range of health conditions.
"This line of thinking, I'll call it, is not based on science. It's actually been debunked totally and scientifically proven … I don't know how to say it even more clearly that the measles vaccine is highly effective. It is also extremely safe. The science tells us that over and over again and we need people to listen to science," Strang said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2025.
Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press
