Province urges evacuee parents to have babies vaccinated for measles as number of cases rises
Provincial health officials are encouraging parents who've evacuated due to wildfires to vaccinate their babies for measles, amid another uptick in the number of cases of the highly infectious disease in Manitoba.
The number of confirmed measles cases in the province this year has jumped to 90.
Provincial officials released the figures, which are accurate as of last Saturday, on Wednesday afternoon. That's up from 72 confirmed and four probable cases as of May 24.
The Associated Press Files
An electron microscope image of a measles virus particle.
The Health Department has expanded measles vaccine eligibility to infants, aged six months to 12 months, who've been evacuated from their home communities.
One dose of MMR vaccine can be provided to those eligible babies, on top of the routine schedule offered at 12 months of age and between four and six years old, the province said in a bulletin Wednesday.
'Manitobans who have been evacuated from their communities due to wildfire may be temporarily housed in facilities with many other evacuees,' a government spokesman said.
'Evacuees may be stationed in one location, and then move on to another, and these locations may be in regions where measles is circulating.'
The spokesman said eligible evacuees can get immunizations at the local public health office in the area they've been evacuated to, or at medical clinics. Public health staff are at evacuation registration centres.
Officials previously expanded vaccine eligibility to infants aged six to 12 months in the Southern Health-Santé Sud and Interlake Eastern health regions, where measles is circulating.
Public health officials also said Wednesday anyone who visited the Boundary Trails Health Centre emergency room in Winkler on May 22 from 6 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. may have been exposed to measles.
Anyone who was there at the time should monitor for symptoms until June 13, officials said.
Measles infections are rising locally, nationally and internationally, largely in children who have not been vaccinated or who are under-vaccinated.
Dr. Carol Kurbis, a medical officer of health with Manitoba Health's communicable disease control branch, said contracting the disease has potentially serious consequences and can require hospitalization.
'You really can't predict who is going to develop a complication or a severe case of measles,' she said. 'Even those who are healthy can potentially develop serious disease.'
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Severe complications can include pneumonia, brain swelling and death.
Kurbis noted three measles deaths have been reported in the U.S. this year.
'We haven't had any reported to date in Canada, but given that we are now over 2,000 cases in Canada, it wouldn't be unexpected to see a death… it certainly is a concern,' she said.
— With files from Malak Abas
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik PinderaReporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
Every piece of reporting Erik produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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