The child's mother had contracted the disease during pregnancy and the child died shortly after birth, confirms Alberta's Health Minister Adriana LaGrange.
Measles was eradicated in Canada in 1998 but last year an outbreak started that has taken hold mainly in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Over 5,000 people have fallen ill so far this year, of which about 88 percent are unvaccinated.
LaGrange urges all children under five, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems to get vaccinated.
In the US, the spread is also high. This year's outbreak is the largest since the disease was classified as eradicated in 2000, according to fresh figures from the CDC. The largest proportion of cases have been reported in low-vaccination areas in eastern Texas. Three people have died from measles in the US this year. The disease has also spread across the border to Mexico.
Measles is highly contagious and was previously a typical childhood disease, but has been rare since vaccinations began in the 1970s. However, as vaccination rates have declined in the US, among other places, the disease has once again taken hold.
Symptoms include high fever, dry cough, irritated eyes and rash. But the disease can also lead to serious complications such as pneumonia, brain inflammation and in rare cases death.
