New Ontario measles cases down to single digits for the first time since January

Health officials in Ontario are reporting that the number of new measles cases are down to the single digits for the first time since January.

That’s based on weekly data release by Public Health Ontario, which shows eight measles cases reported over the past week, bringing the province’s total to 2,360 infections since an outbreak began in October.

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The last time the province reported new cases in the single digits was on Jan. 16 when just two cases were added to the tally.

But as the outbreak expanded, health officials were at times dealing with hundreds of new infections per week.

The latest data shows most of the cases between July 29 and Aug. 5 were in Southwestern Ontario, Canada’s former measles hot spot.

Last month, the southwestern local public health unit reported no new cases for the first time since a spring surge.

Public health officials said the downward trend in weekly case counts suggests that transmission may be slowing, but continued vigilance is needed.