The unvaccinated are fuelling the measles outbreak in Ontario, data shows

The Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) region continues to have the highest number of measles cases in the province.

In the past seven days, SWPH has seen an increase in 35 cases, a total of 343 since October.

SWPH believes the number of cases reported to is an underestimate of the true number of measles cases within the region.

“Not everyone with measles may seek testing or medical care,” read a statement.

Of all the cases being monitored by SWPH, nearly 74 per cent are in people younger than 18 years old — 82.6 per cent of which are reportedly not immunized.

As of April 2, there are 661 cases of the measles across the province, 44.8 per cent of those are from Southwestern Public Health — the next closest region is Grand Erie Public Health with 18 per cent of provincial cases.

Southwestern Public Health covers Oxford County, Elgin County, and the City of St. Thomas.