Health officials issue plea for vaccinations as measles rapidly spreads: Southwestern Public Health

Southwestern Public Health has one thing to say to the community: get your measles vaccine. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell has that story.

Area health officials are pleading with the public to make sure their measles immunizations are up to date.

The plea comes as Southwestern Public Health, which includes Elgin and Oxford counties, reports the highest measles case counts of any public health jurisdiction in the province.

“Please, do not risk your health or your child’s health through a measles infection,” implored Southwestern Medical Officer of Health Dr. Ninh Tran at a media briefing Thursday.

According to Dr. Tran, Southwestern Public Health has recorded 228 cases of measles since a measles outbreak began last October. Twenty-eight cases have come in just the past week.

Local case counts represent nearly half of all 470 cases across the province, as reported by Public Health Ontario.

“What happens with measles is once it gets introduced into a particular area, it is highly, highly infectious. And if there are individuals or areas that are not immunized, and individuals aren’t immunized, it will go through it quickly,” explained Dr. Tran.

In Middlesex London, meanwhile, health officials say they’re not yet seeing the same surge in cases locally as officials are seeing in Elgin and Oxford.

But they are concerned, because most of the cases across the province are in children. At its monthly community update this week, officials at London Health Sciences Centre said 79 per cent of cases are in patients under 19 years old.

Division Head and Physician, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Dr. Michelle Barton-Forbes, cited the following reasons as factors causing measles to spread throughout the region:

• Vaccine hesitancy
• Limited vaccine opportunities during the pandemic
• Decreased access to primary care
• Religious or cultural reasons

“The bottom line is that we are not having the coverage that we need. And what we actually need is a 95 per cent coverage in our community to prevent measles from circulating,” explained Dr. Barton-Forbes.

VP, Children’s Hospital and Women’s Programs, Shannon Maier, said Children’s Hospital is particularly concerned about the virus spreading to patients who are not able to receive the measles vaccine.

“Very concerned with protecting our most vulnerable patients. Protocols are in place to contain and minimize outbreaks and measles in general, early, which helps to prevent its spread to those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical conditions,” said Maier.

On Wednesday, the Middlesex London Health Unit reported two new cases of measles, bringing the total number of cases in the jurisdiction to three.

And while Elgin and Oxford counties are seeing the brunt of cases in the greater London region, Dr. Ninh Tran said he expects neighbouring jurisdictions will soon see a more rapid spread of the virus.

“You are starting to see measles cases coming up in other jurisdictions. And I think that will be evident in the upcoming provincial reports, as there is a growing number of health units that are being impacted by measles,” cautioned Dr. Tran.