Measles outbreak grows to 8 cases in Quebec

The number of measles cases in Quebec is growing as an outbreak is underway.

On the morning of Dec. 19, eight cases were confirmed in the Lanaudière region, the Laurentians, Laval, Que., and Montreal, according to the provincial government.

On Sunday morning, Dr. Antonio D'Angelo, the head of the pediatric emergency department at CHU Sainte-Justine, told Radio-Canada there had been two confirmed cases at his Montreal hospital over the past week.

''We are expecting more cases," Dr. D'Angelo said.

He said an efficient triage system inside hospital emergency rooms is key to containing the spread, but people showing up with common cold symptoms, which can be treated at home, can clog the system.

"If there is a case of measles in the waiting room waiting to be triaged, they could infect other people. So it's important that we can triage safely and quickly," Dr. D'Angelo explained.

Public health officials list a youth clinic in Pierrefonds-Roxboro, and the emergency rooms of both Sainte-Justine Hospital and the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital as possible exposure locations.

They also list a Walmart Supercentre in the Saint-Leonard neighbourhood and an Adonis grocery store in Anjou as places where an infected person visited.

For the full list of exposure locations, along with dates and times of exposure, see the Quebec government website here.

The last measles outbreak in the province took place between December 2024 and April 19, 2025.

The government recommends vaccination as the best protection against measles.