N.S. public health reporting 30 cases of measles in northern part of province
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Health says there are now 30 cases of measles in the northern part of the province.
The health agency had reported a single case on July 7 in the northern zone, and says it is believed that all 30 infections stem from travel within Canada to regions where measles is known to be circulating.
'Currently, new cases are mainly found in large households and specific, small communities with close contact,' said a Thursday statement from Nova Scotia Health.
Health officials said the rise in cases was expected because it's common for secondary infections to appear within seven to 21 days after initial measles cases are identified.
Eight of 30 cases in the northern zone have been lab-confirmed and the remaining are considered confirmed based on patients' household exposure and symptoms.
Despite the rise in infections, the risk to the general public is still considered low.
The provincial health agency is reminding Nova Scotians that the best protection against measles is vaccination, and every person born after 1970 should have two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine after their first birthday.
Nova Scotia's Department of Health says 93.4 per cent of children who turned two years old in 2024 had received one dose of the measles vaccine, and 78.6 per cent were fully vaccinated with two doses. A spokesperson with the department says actual measles vaccination rates in Nova Scotia may be higher 'because of under-reporting.'
Scientists, meanwhile, say that a population needs a vaccination rate of 95 per cent — with two doses — to stop measles from spreading.
In May, a single case of measles was reported in the Halifax Regional Municipality, but there were no secondary infections identified with the original case, now considered 'resolved.'
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 24, 2025.
By Lyndsay Armstrong
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