Alberta Health Services has issued new advisories for potential measles exposure in some areas of the province this week, as the number of active cases rises to 14, up from six before the Easter weekend.
Alberta’s health agency has issued six advisories this week, reporting new measles cases across the north, central, and south zones of the province, including in the Edmonton and Calgary areas. Most public exposure sites were medical facilities, but in Calgary they also included the Days Inn hotel near the airport, the CrossIron Mills mall, and an IKEA store.
This brings the total number of measles cases in the province to 122 as of April 23, up from 89 on April 17, since the start of the outbreak. Of the total cases, 108 are no longer contagious, according to the province’s daily tracking.
Measles, also called rubeola or red measles, is a virus that is spread through the air and by contact with respiratory secretions from the mouth or nose. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a red blotchy rash that starts on the face a few days after the onset of fever and spreads to the rest of the body.
Quebec declared its measles outbreak over this week after 32 days without any new reported cases. The measles outbreak in Canada began last October in New Brunswick, linked to a travel-related case.
While New Brunswick declared an end to its outbreak in January, other provinces have reported cases this year, including British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario, with the latter recording the largest number, at 773 confirmed cases as of April 16.
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said last week that many of the cases reported in the province were linked to travel and related to particular communities.
The province is “taking a targeted approach to ensure that people know what the risks are so that they can make sure that if they are contagious, they stay away and that they have an option to be able to get vaccinated,” Smith said at the legislature on April 15.
The province was without a chief medical officer of health for a few days last week after the interim official’s contract expired on April 14, drawing criticism from the Opposition NDP. The province on April 17 named Dr. Sunil Sookram as the new interim top doctor, saying it is working on a longer-term appointment.
“Measles is spreading, one of the most contagious infections that we know of, a preventable disease that is making kids sick,” said NDP House Leader Christina Gray at the legislature on April 16. “The minister could at least appoint an interim chief medical officer of health, but she hasn’t and in their absence continues to fail to promote effective vaccination.”
Smith, who has favoured bodily autonomy over mandatory vaccinations, said the province is focused on making immunization information available to Albertans.
“Anyone can call 811 to be able to get the information that they need if they are looking for a vaccination, and we’re looking forward to making sure that everyone is able to get that information,” Smith said at the legislature on April 16.
