Recorded measles cases in B.C. spiked once again in the past week.
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) confirmed 26 new measles between Oct. 30 and Thursday — all of which came from the Northern Health Authority, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of all cases reported this year.
The region, specifically its northeast area, has 251 confirmed cases in 2025.
Dr. Brian Conway, medical director at the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, tells 1130 NewsRadio he’s “disappointed” by the latest spike.
Besides a single case in the Fraser Health Authority, the Northern region is the only one to have recorded any new cases in the last month.
Conway suspects that it has to do with the conditions of Northern B.C.
“If people are indoors together in a more confined space, it would increase the contagion even more. And in northeastern British Columbia, it’s certainly colder than in the Lower Mainland,” said Conway.
But he says the main factor is likely the vaccination rate.
“In northeastern British Columbia, before the outbreaks started, we were reporting rates of full vaccination as low as 50 per cent — much lower than the 90 per cent we need to prevent community-based outbreaks,” he explained.
“We understand this: that if you vaccinate people, you prevent the transmission of measles. So I hope this recrudescence is yet again another cautionary tale,” said Conway.
Between October 2024 and October 2025, Alberta confirmed 1,917 cases, while Ontario recorded 2,371. Health Canada says Ontario’s outbreak was declared over last month.