Ontario measles case count exceeds 800 total infections, 155 new since last week

TORONTO — Ontario is reporting 155 new measles cases over the last week, pushing the province’s case count to 816 since an outbreak began in the fall.

The number of new cases has increased again after a few weeks of appearing to stabilize in the 100-per-week range, which public health physicians had taken as a sign of potential optimism.

Public Health Ontario says there have now been 61 hospitalizations – that’s 11 more than last week – including 47 children. Unimmunized kids are the predominant group infected by the outbreak.

Most cases are still in Ontario’s southwestern public health unit, and spread to two more public health units this week, including Hamilton and Northeastern, which covers Timmins and Englehart.

Measles usually begins with a fever, cough, runny nose and red watery eyes, followed by a red blotchy rash that starts on the face and spreads to the body and limbs.

The virus can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and death.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 10, 2025.

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press

READ MORE: Grand Erie Public Health CEO no longer with organization