Alberta reports 1,314 confirmed measles cases since March, surpassing U.S. number

Edmonton Journal

6 days ago

Article content
EDMONTON — Alberta has surpassed the United States in confirmed measles cases, after 30 new cases were diagnosed over the weekend.
Article content
The province reported Monday that it has seen 1,314 cases since the beginning of March.
Article content
Article content
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,288 cases so far this year across 39 states, though case numbers are updated weekly with the next update expected on Wednesday.
Article content
Article content
The outbreak of the highly contagious disease hasn't led to any deaths so far in Alberta, but three people, including two children, have died in the United States.
Article content
Article content
The U.S. has also seen more hospitalizations, with the CDC reporting 162 people, or 13 per cent of all cases, being hospitalized compared to 102 Albertans as of earlier this month.
Article content
Alberta's measles dashboard says two people are currently in hospital, including one person receiving intensive care.
Article content
Dr. Craig Jenne, an immunology and infectious disease professor at the University of Calgary, says once measles started spreading at the community level, Alberta's low vaccination rate meant it was only a matter of time before the province surpassed the U.S. in cases.
Article content
'This was largely predictable,' he said in an interview.
Article content
'It was pretty clear we were going to see growth, unfortunately, for several weeks to months.'
Article content
Article content
Jenne said the speed at which measles has and continues to spread in Alberta is concerning. Last week, Alberta reached the highest per capita infection rate in North America, despite outbreaks in other jurisdictions like Ontario or Texas starting months earlier than in Alberta.
Article content
Article content
'It really is spreading quite easily here,' Jenne said.
Article content
'And we've not yet seen significant mitigation of the spread that perhaps some other jurisdictions have been able to manage.'
Article content
Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist with the University of Alberta, said she expects Alberta's situation to get worse before it gets any better.
Article content
'It's absolutely appalling and it shouldn't really happen, but it is where we are,' Saxinger said.
Article content
'This whole thing is just really not where I thought we'd be in 2025.'
Article content
Both Jenne and Saxinger said the actual number of cases on either side of the border is likely much higher than what's been confirmed.