A report issued by Public Health Ontario confirmed that a young child died from measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in over 10 years.

The child, who was under five years old, was not vaccinated against the virus, according to the surveillance report published on Thursday.

The report also confirms that this is the first measles death in the province in over a decade.

The Ontario Public Health Authority announced that 22 confirmed cases of measles have been reported in the province in 2024. Among these individuals, there were 13 children and nine adults. Four of the adults were previously vaccinated, two were unvaccinated, and two had unknown vaccination status.

The report indicates that the cases spread across nine different public health units, and it is believed that the source of transmission in 15 of the 22 cases is travel.

The highest number of cases were reported by public health officials in Toronto and Hamilton, with each confirming six measles cases in their respective areas.

Five cases required hospitalization, all of which were among unvaccinated children under nine years old, and the deceased child was among those hospitalized.

Officials warn that the highly contagious respiratory virus spreads easily to those who are unvaccinated or have not previously had measles. Unvaccinated infants and pregnant women, as well as individuals with weakened immune systems, are particularly at risk.

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CP24 on Friday morning that it is important to recognize that measles is a highly contagious disease and has a knack for finding under-immunized or unimmunized populations. "So when we see declining measles vaccination rates, and rates of other vaccine-preventable diseases, even here in Ontario, if you import a case, you shouldn’t be surprised to see some cases of the disease transmitted locally; the key point here is that it is completely preventable."

Symptoms of the virus include fever, red rash, red, watery eyes, and cough.

Dr. Bogoch noted that while it is not believed that measles is spreading locally, "a lot of measles viruses are circulating globally."

He added, "While we can't control what happens outside our borders, we can ensure that people get vaccinated."

He emphasized that "it's clear there has been some disruption in public health services during the darkest days of the pandemic, and some people may have missed a vaccine dose here or there, and it’s really important for people to stay up to date on their vaccinations."

Between 2013 and 2023, 101 confirmed cases of measles were reported in Ontario.

The last time the province saw more than 20 cases of measles was in 2014, when 22 cases were confirmed.

A report issued in July by the Ontario Public Health Authority earlier indicated that vaccination rates for measles have also declined in recent years. For example, in Toronto, the percentage of fully vaccinated children by age seven dropped from 80.2 percent in the 2019-2020 school year to 38.9 percent in the 2021-2022 school year.