DiscoverThe DecibelTracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada
Tracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada

Tracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada

Update: 2025-09-24
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Measles is one of the most contagious respiratory viruses in the world. But for decades, it rarely infected Canadians. That’s not true any more. Since October, 2024, North America has seen record case numbers — and most of them seem to lead back to one Canadian family.

Today, The Globe’s international correspondent Nathan Vanderklippe joins the show. He’ll tell us the story of his 40,000-kilometre journey to trace the measles outbreak and to figure out how it took hold in North America after Canada eliminated it 27 years ago. He’ll explain why this spread has been so hard to contain and what tracing its spread can teach us about preventing and preparing for future outbreaks.

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com


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Tracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada

Tracing the virus: How measles made its way back to Canada

The Globe and Mail