Alberta has confirmed 1,314 measles cases since March, eclipsing the 1,288 infections reported across the entire United States so far this year, provincial data showed on Monday. Thirty new cases were logged over the weekend. The province’s tally is the highest per-capita rate in North America despite Alberta’s population of just under five million compared with more than 341 million in the United States. The outbreak has hospitalised 102 Albertans, including at least 15 in intensive care, but no deaths have been recorded; U.S. authorities report 162 hospitalisations and three fatalities. Experts attribute Alberta’s surge to lagging childhood vaccination rates and rapid community transmission, noting that many infections may be going undetected. “It was only a matter of time before we overtook the U.S.,” said University of Calgary immunologist Craig Jenne, who warned that Canada could lose its measles-eradication status if the trend persists. Preventative Health Services Minister Adriana LaGrange said expanded vaccination clinics and outreach in high-risk zones are beginning to slow the growth in new cases, though weekly counts remain well above pre-outbreak levels. Infectious-disease specialists, including the University of Alberta’s Lynora Saxinger, are urging mass immunisation campaigns and an early extra vaccine dose for infants province-wide ahead of the school year and large summer gatherings.