Health officials are warning that the FIFA World Cup could bring a fresh measles challenge to Vancouver as fans, athletes, and visitors arrive from around the globe. The concern is not about the tournament itself, but about what large international gatherings can do when a highly contagious disease is still circulating in many places.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified measles as one of the illnesses most likely to be imported during the event. That assessment is based on a simple reality: measles spreads with remarkable ease, and crowded venues create more opportunities for exposure when people from different regions mix closely together.
Ontario has already released its own infectious disease risk review for the tournament. That document points to travel volume, dense crowds, and slipping vaccination coverage as factors that could help measles spread if an infected traveler arrives.
Why Health Experts Are Paying Close Attention
Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, says the lack of public-facing guidance in British Columbia is a concern. In his view, officials should be reminding residents and visitors now, before the biggest crowds reach the city.
He argues that the message should be direct: check your vaccination record, make sure you are protected, and understand that Canada is already seeing active measles transmission. According to Conway, preparation is far more effective than reacting after cases begin to appear.
- Measles remains active in several parts of the world.
- It spreads through the air and can linger in shared spaces.
- Large sporting events bring together people from many countries.
- Lower vaccination rates increase the chance of outbreaks.
Case Numbers Show the Disease Is Still Moving
Across Canada, more than 900 measles cases have been reported in seven jurisdictions this year. Alberta and Manitoba have recorded the largest share of infections so far.
The current outbreak follows an even larger surge last year, when more than 5,000 people were infected. Officials believe that outbreak began with a case in New Brunswick in the fall of 2024 after exposure outside the country.
British Columbia has also seen substantial activity. Provincial data shows 470 measles cases reported in 2025 and 2026, with roughly 80 percent of them concentrated in northeastern B.C., where immunization coverage is among the province’s lowest.
History Offers a Useful Warning
Public health specialists say Vancouver has seen this kind of pattern before. After the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, British Columbia recorded a measles outbreak that resulted in 82 confirmed cases.
The circumstances are not identical, but the lesson is clear: major international events can create conditions that help infectious diseases move more easily. When visitors arrive from many countries, even one imported case can matter.
Conway says the current environment is even more complicated because vaccination rates have slipped in parts of British Columbia. He also notes that some countries sending travelers to the World Cup may have lower immunization rates than Canada, which raises the odds that an infectious case could arrive.
What Local Agencies Say They Are Doing
Vancouver Coastal Health says it has been planning for the FIFA World Cup for years. The authority says it completed a public health risk assessment with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, although the results have not been released publicly.
Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, deputy chief medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health, says the measles risk for the tournament was rated in the medium or moderate range. He added that the region has already dealt with dozens of imported measles cases during the current outbreak.
Those imported cases, he said, have not led to ongoing spread in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. In his view, relatively strong immunization rates in the area have helped stop chains of transmission before they grow.
Why the Region Feels Better Prepared Than Some Others
Lysyshyn says he does not expect a single imported case during the tournament to become much harder to manage than the imported cases health officials have already handled. The key difference, he explained, is that local immunity has so far limited wider spread.
That does not mean the risk is gone. It means the public health system is watching carefully, and officials believe fast response, contact tracing, and vaccination remain the main tools for containment.
City Leaders Say Emergency Plans Are Ready
The City of Vancouver says it has broad operational and emergency management plans in place for the tournament. Officials say the city is ready to respond if public health or safety issues develop during the event.
While the details of those plans have not been laid out publicly in full, the city says it has prepared for the scale of the event and the range of issues that can come with it.
Where the Greatest Risk Still Lies
Dr. Monika Naus, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health, says large global gatherings always involve some infectious disease risk. Even so, she says the danger to the general public remains limited because most adults are already immune through vaccination or prior infection.
Her main concern is not broad community spread everywhere at once. It is what happens if measles reaches under-vaccinated communities where protection is weaker and cases can move more easily from person to person.
- Communities with low vaccination coverage face the biggest threat.
- Clusters of under-immunized residents can allow faster spread.
- Early identification of cases can reduce onward transmission.
Canada No Longer Holds Elimination Status
The Public Health Agency of Canada said last year that the Pan American Health Organization informed Canada it no longer has measles elimination status. That designation is lost when transmission continues for an extended period instead of staying limited to isolated imported cases.
Canada can regain that status if measles transmission is interrupted for a full year. Until then, health officials are urging people to treat vaccination as a practical defense rather than a routine formality.
Why Vaccination Matters Before the First Kickoff
With World Cup matches expected to draw major crowds to Vancouver, public health experts say checking immunization records is one of the most useful steps residents and visitors can take. Measles is extremely contagious, but it is also vaccine-preventable.
Ensuring that people are fully immunized lowers the chances that an imported case becomes a larger outbreak. That is especially important in a city preparing for a global event where movement, crowds, and close contact are unavoidable.
For Vancouver, the challenge is straightforward: welcome the world, but keep a preventable disease from taking advantage of the celebration.
