Alberta surpasses 1,000 measles cases, second province to do so

Vials of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are seen in this file photo.

Alberta is the second province in Canada to count 1,000 measles cases this year.

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With 24 new cases in as many hours, Alberta had 1,020 confirmed cases of measles as of Friday at noon.

A total of 25 were considered active, or communicable, cases. No deaths have been reported.

Also on Friday, a spokesperson from Alberta’s Primary and Preventative Health Services ministry confirmed at least one baby has been born with measles. They did not provide an exact number, but said there have been “fewer than five cases of congenital measles.”

“In each case, the mother was not immunized,” the officials said.

Additionally, 20 pregnant people have had measles. Again, the government said fewer than five cases were hospitalized.

Ontario’s total number of cases crossed 1,000 in late April and currently sits at nearly 2,180.

Together, Alberta and Ontario account for more than 90 per cent of measles cases in the country.

“Alberta’s government takes the current measles situation seriously and continues to closely monitor outbreak,” the spokesperson said, pointing to government efforts to promote immunization, educate the public about symptoms, provide testing, and increasing clinic hours in areas with lower immunization rates.

“These efforts are making a difference. Between March 16 and June 14, more than 67,000 measles vaccines were administered across Alberta—an increase of more than 55 per cent compared with the same period last year. In the south zone alone, vaccine uptake rose by 130 per cent."

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However, one of the province’s former chief medical officers of health, Dr. James Talbot, said the 1,000-case milestone suggests a grim outlook for the summer and fall, during which measles cases will likely rise not only in Alberta but also neighbouring provinces and territories due to summer travel.

Then, Talbot expects Canada will lose its measles elimination status in October, which it achieved in 1998.

Alberta reaching 1,000 measles cases also means that Alberta will begin to see more serious outcomes, like death, brain damage and miscarriages.

Talbot said, “If the measures were working, we’d see the numbers going down and we wouldn’t see spread to new areas. And both of those are happening.”

He expects cities and areas such as Edmonton that have so far avoided high measles cases will not fare as well in the summer.

The Edmonton zone on Friday saw its first new measles cases since early May, one day after Alberta Health Services (AHS) issued a warning about two measles exposures in the capital city.

On Friday, AHS also warned about possible exposures at the Stollery Children’s Hospital on June 18 and 19:

• 3:30 a.m. - 5:30 a.m. in the Stollery emergency department;
• 3:20 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. between the Stollery emergency department to Unit 4E4/F2 via the patient elevator to the 4th floor; and
• June 18 3:25 p.m. - June 19 3:35 p.m. in Unit 4E4/F2.

Anyone who was at these locations during the specific time frames may have been exposed to measles.

People born in or after 1970 and have less than two documented doses of the measles vaccine may be at risk of developing the disease.

Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3 C or higher, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts.

AHS advises people who develop symptoms to stay home and call the measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 before visiting a healthcare facility, including a family physician, clinic or pharmacy.

According to the government, between one and three people out of every 1,000 diagnosed with measles die. One in 1,000 diagnosed with measles will get encephalitis.

Measles is considered preventable with immunization. Two doses of a vaccine makes a person nearly fully protected. Ninety-five per cent of a population needs to be immunized for herd immunity.