Canada is in the middle of the largest measles outbreak it has seen in generations, with 2,515 cases so far this year as of May 17, which is the most recent data reported by Health Canada as of Monday.

Despite the spread of the disease B.C. is not considering making measles immunization mandatory for attending school, as it is in Ontario and New Brunswick, the Health Ministry told The Tyee in an emailed statement.

“There is no requirement from the province for students to be vaccinated to attend school, or that students’ immunization records be provided as part of school registration,” the ministry said.

Instead its strategy is mostly a reactive one, where it will use data to respond to outbreaks and exposures. B.C. will also encourage people to get vaccinated and will open school-based immunization clinics in some areas with low vaccination rates.

Measles can cause brain swelling, which can lead to seizures, deafness and brain damage. It kills around one in every 3,000 people, according to HealthLinkBC. In the United States, 40 per cent of children who get measles are hospitalized.

Measles can also cause what’s known as immune amnesia, meaning an infection can wipe out up to 70 per cent of a patient’s antibodies, said Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician who helped prevent a major SARS outbreak in B.C. when her team isolated Vancouver’s first SARS patient. This hugely increases a person’s risk of getting sick and dying from an infection years after they recover from measles.

Not making the MMR vaccine a requirement to attend school is the wrong strategy to take with one of the most infectious diseases on the planet, Filiatrault told The Tyee. Filiatrault is a past member of Protect Our Province BC and a current member of the Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition.