Just over a year after the first confirmed measles case in Windsor-Essex, local health officials say the situation has stabilized, but the work is far from over.
Windsor-Essex saw their first case within the outbreak on March 4, 2025, with a case linked to Cornerstone Christian Academy in Ruthven. In the months that followed, the local region recorded 150 confirmed cases, with the last reported infection in July.
Dr. Mehdi Aloosh, the Medical Officer of Health at the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, says the region is in a much stronger position thanks to increased vaccination efforts and heightened public awareness, but more can be done to ensure that number stays down.
Dr. Aloosh adds that to keep measles numbers down, the health unit continues their effort in vaccine verification for school-aged children where early data suggests the outbreak prompted an increase in immunization rates.
During the 2023-24 school year, about 85.5 per cent of seven-year-olds were vaccinated against measles, compared to 92.6 per cent of 17-year-olds. In the following school year, those numbers rose to 90.3 per cent and 94.4 per cent respectively.
Dr. Mehdi Aloosh says overall susceptibility has been reduced locally.
"Our level of concern is less than last year when we didn't have the outbreak now. We have increased the vaccination rate among those who are vulnerable. We also have some immunity among those people who didn't receive the vaccine and got the disease itself."
He says they saw vaccination increases among school-age children during that outbreak.
"We see a little bit of uptake during that period when the outbreak was started in February, but still we need to wait to see the result of this year to have a better sense about the school-age children."
He says there is continued caution.
"Preventing measles is achievable and any of those diseases that requires continued attention to vaccination, trust in the evidence that's provided to our community and collective responsibility."
Last year, upwards of 5,000 measles vaccinations were provided to local migrant farmers.
Dr. Aloosh says the health unit continues to investigate any suspected measles reports and are prepared to act quickly if new cases emerge.
At the same time, the outbreak has reinforced a broader message about vaccination beyond measles alone.
In 2024, only one measles case was reported.