Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report – Week 35: August 26 to September 1, 2018
Key Points
- In Canada, no new cases of measles or rubella were reported in week 35, 2018.
- Twenty-two cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2018.
- Globally, there are large measles outbreaks reported across Europe which have affected a large number of countries. Canadians travelling to Europe and Venezuela are invited to consult the travel health notices for more information.
On this page
Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada
Date published: 2018-09-07
Epidemiological summary
During epidemiological week 35, 2018 no new laboratory-confirmed cases of measles or rubella were reported in Canada1.
To date in 2018, a total of 22 cases of measles have been reported.
The last rubella case was reported in February 2016 and the last measles case was reported in epidemiological week 34.
Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=22) and rubella (n=0), by week of rash onset, as reported to the Canadian Measles/ Rubella Surveillance System (CMRSS) and Measles and Rubella Surveillance System (MARS), for the period ending September 1, 2018.

Figure 1 - Long Description
| Epidemiological Week of Rash Onset, 2018 | Number of confirmed measles cases reported | Number of confirmed rubella cases reported |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | 2 | 0 |
| 32 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | 0 | 0 |
| Missing Rash Onset | 0 | 0 |
| Cases (year-to-date) | 22 | 0 |
Geographic distribution
There is currently one activeNote * case of measles reported in Canada.
There are no reported active cases of rubella in Canada.
Figure 2: Distribution of activeFootnote *, confirmed measles cases by health region.
Figure 2 - Text Description
Figure 2 - Text Description
| Health Region | Measles Cases | Rubella Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Central Regional Integrated Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Western Regional Integrated Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Labrador-Grenfell Regional Integrated Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Prince Edward Island | 0 | 0 |
| South Shore District Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| South West Nova District Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Annapolis Valley District Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Colchester East Hants Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Cumberland Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Pictou County Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Cape Breton District Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Capital District Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 1 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 2 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 3 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 4 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 5 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 6 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Zone 7 (NB) | 0 | 0 |
| Québec et Chaudières-Appalaches | 0 | 0 |
| Centre-du-Québec | 0 | 0 |
| Montréal et Laval | 0 | 0 |
| Ouest-du-Québec | 0 | 0 |
| Montérégie | 0 | 0 |
| Nord-Est | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario Central East | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario Central West | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario Eastern | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario North East | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario North West | 0 | 0 |
| Ontario South West | 0 | 0 |
| City of Toronto Health Unit | 0 | 0 |
| Winnipeg Regional Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Prairie Mountain Health | 0 | 0 |
| Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Northern Regional Health Authority | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Health | 0 | 0 |
| Saskatchewan South | 0 | 0 |
| Saskatchewan Central | 0 | 0 |
| Saskatchewan North | 0 | 0 |
| South Zone | 0 | 0 |
| Calgary Zone | 0 | 0 |
| Central Zone | 0 | 0 |
| Edmonton Zone | 0 | 0 |
| North Zone | 0 | 0 |
| British Columbia | 1 | 0 |
| Yukon | 0 | 0 |
| Northwest Territories | 0 | 0 |
| Nunavut | 0 | 0 |
|
||
Laboratory summary
Measles
In 2018, 19 cases of measles have been genotyped and the genotypes were B3 (n=5) and D8 (n=14) (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2018 (n=19) by week† of rash onset.
Figure 3 - Long Description
| Epi week | B3 | B3 - Harare | D4 | D8 | D8 - Taunton | D9 | H1 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 48 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
The current global distribution of measles genotypes can be found on the WHO Measles Surveillance website.
For information regarding the interpretation and use of measles genotyping (including a discussion of genotypes and sequence variants), refer to Hiebert J and Severini A. Canada Communicable Disease Report. 2014; 40-12: 257- 260.