Four provinces confirm measles cases in Montreal, the epicenter of Canada

Seventeen measles cases have been confirmed in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia – more than half of them in the Montreal area, and one case in Ontario linked to a high school.

Quebec Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau confirmed 10 cases on Monday, almost all of them children, making Montreal the epicenter of the country. He said only three of the cases were related to out-of-state travel, indicating that the community is spread in and around the city.

Public Health Ontario has confirmed five cases of measles and said all but one were travel-related.

The latest case, announced last week, was in a 30-year-old man in York Region, north of Toronto, and may be linked to community transmission, the region's health official said.

Dr. Barry Pakes said the man had “close contact” among students and teachers at the high school, so health officials in the area are making sure everyone is vaccinated.

More than 1,500 students and 150 staff received notification from health officials on Feb. 29 that they had tested positive for measles, he said in an email.

Pakes said they were invited to the immunization clinic on Sunday and had a “very good turnout.” School measles vaccination rates are 95% “and climbing,” he added.

Students who do not have proof of two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine will not return to school until March 15, Pakes said.

According to him, a man in his 30s was fully vaccinated.

Dawn Bowdish, a professor of immunology at McMaster University in Hamilton, said it's rare for someone to become infected after being vaccinated.

“When I hear about a case like this, I'm grateful that the person was vaccinated, because it means they had a less dangerous course (of the disease) than when they had it,” he said, noting that measles is not only the most dangerous. virus known to be contagious, but also has “the highest death rate of all vaccine-preventable infections.”

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“A patient is less likely to spread measles to others than if they were not vaccinated,” he said.

BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said one case of the virus linked to international travel was reported over the weekend in a child younger than 10 years old in the Vancouver Coastal Health Region. The case in Saskatoon, confirmed in January, was also related. travel abroad.

British Columbia and Ontario last mandated in 2019 that the western province required parents and guardians to provide health departments with immunization records for students in the public school system.

Infectious disease experts say small cases of measles can escalate into widespread infections, as has happened elsewhere in the world, including in Europe, where thousands of cases have been confirmed.

Henry urged parents to ensure children are vaccinated against measles, especially if they plan to travel during spring break, which begins next week in British Columbia. His federal counterpart, Dr. Theresa Tam, made the same announcement in a statement on February 23.

BC Premier David Eby said the confirmation of the only case in the province was “terrifying” for the parents of the babies. He reprimanded people “peddling false information about vaccines.”

“Without these vaccines, you're putting babies in our province at risk of very serious disease,” he said.

The symptoms of measles are similar to those of a cold or flu before the rash appears. The virus can cause serious illness in children, including pneumonia and brain swelling.

National vaccination coverage rates by March 2021 were similar to 2019 levels, with 92 per cent of two-year-olds vaccinated against measles, Health Canada said.

Canada has set a target of 95 percent coverage by 2025 of a variety of childhood vaccines, including two doses of the measles vaccine before age seven.

— With files from Dirk Meissner in Victoria and Jacob Serebrin in Montreal.

This Canadian Press report was first published on March 4, 2024.

Canadian Press health information is supported through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

Camilla Baines and Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press