Alberta Health Services has confirmed measles exposure in St. Albert and Edmonton is believed to have started with a child at a St. Albert daycare.
On Thursday, health officials sent a letter to parents and daycare staff at the Kids and Company St. Albert Grandin daycare warning that people at the daycare on Jan. 29 may have been exposed to measles.
“In the coming days, staff from Alberta Health Services Public Health will be in contact with all staff and all families from Kids and Company St. Albert Grandin to provide additional information and direction,” the letter reads.
Dr. Grazia Salvo, medical health officer for the Edmonton zone, told the Gazette the case is travel-related.
“This was travel acquired, and when (the child) came back they had symptoms that were consistent with measles,” she said.
Salvo said she wasn’t able to comment on how many people may have been exposed at the daycare, but those who may have been affected will receive a phone call from health officials.
“We’ve been contacting them personally via phone numbers to let them know that they’ve been exposed, to let them know what symptoms they need to look out for, and if they qualify within the time period we are offering that preventative medication.”
She said she wasn’t able to confirm whether or not the child had received the measles vaccine.
Lorissa Zollinger, area manager for Kids and Company daycare, said they are working closely with AHS officials to monitor potential symptoms.
“Everybody needs to follow the recommendations set out by AHS, follow their lead, and be mindful of any signs or symptoms,” Zollinger said.
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that is easily spread through the air by sneezing and coughing, and by direct contact with someone who is infected.
Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3 C or higher, a cough, runny nose or red eyes, and a red rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts.
“Whenever physicians see children with these symptoms, that’s when it usually clicks that it might be measles,” Salvo said. “The symptoms are not specific to that disease because there are a lot of viral rashes that do go around, but with the travel history, that’s when they decide to test for measles.”
Salvo said this is the first case of measles this year in Alberta.
“We actually don’t see much transmission within Alberta, unless it happens in a community where they’re not vaccinating for a certain reason. Usually we’ll see cases like this where they’re travel-acquired, and more often than not these travel-acquired cases don’t spread very widely because we have such a high immunization rate in our population.”
The virus can survive two hours after the contagious person has left the space, AHS said. Symptoms can appear within five to 21 days of being exposed.
On Thursday, AHS released the following list of dates and locations where people may have been exposed to the infectious illness in St. Albert and Edmonton:
Jan 31: Real Canadian Superstore (101 St. Albert Trail) from 2 to 5 p.m.;
Jan 31: Chapters (445 St. Albert Trail) from 3:15 to 6 p.m.
Feb. 2: Mercato (120 Bellerose Drive) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Feb. 3: University of Alberta Hospital, main floor (8440 112 Street NW, Edmonton) from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
At the gift shop, information desk and immediate surrounding area; main cafeteria; north elevators across from the info desk and the surrounding area including public washrooms; east hospital entrance, 112 street and foyer area including escalators; main hallway from the 112 street entrance through to the Stollery and adult emergency rooms; main floor area around the McMullen Gallery
Stollery Children’s Hospital, emergency department, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Individuals who were exposed on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 in the locations and timeframes noted, and who have either no history of receiving any measles-containing vaccine, or who are pregnant, immune compromised or under one year of age, are advised to call Health Link at 811.
Those who were exposed on dates before Feb. 1 are no longer eligible for preventative vaccine, however, they are still encouraged to review their immunization history, and call Health Link at 811 for advice.
To test for a potential case, physicians give the patient a nasopharyngeal swab to collect samples from the back of the nose and upper throat. The samples are then sent to the lab for testing.
“That’s how this one was found, and that’s why we’re asking people who might’ve been exposed to look out for those symptoms,” Salvo said. At this point, she said no other people have been tested for measles.
If someone does become symptomatic, they are advised to self-isolate and call the Health Link hotline at 811.
Anyone who is going travelling should look at their vaccination history to ensure they’ve received the vaccine, and check health advisories online for different countries to see the level of potential measles exposure before travelling, Salvo said.
“Not all countries are as lucky as Canada to have such a strong immunization program,” Salvo said. “We know when you have two doses of the MMR vaccine, it’s nearly 100 per cent effective. Not all countries have those resources.”
Infants six months of age to less than 12 months of age are eligible to receive an early dose of the measles-containing vaccine. Children aged 13 months up to 4 years are allowed to receive their second dose of the vaccine prior to travel. Adults born in 1970 or later should also check to see if they have gotten two doses – getting just one can put the individual partially at risk.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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