Worried about measles in southwestern Ontario? Here's what you need to know
After years without locally acquired measles cases, both Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent are now seeing the disease spread in the community. Health officials in both regions say it's a fluid situation, with cases likely to increase in the coming weeks.
Since January, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has reported six cases and the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit has reported seven cases as of Tuesday evening.
"I understand the concern of our community," said Dr. Mehdi Aloosh, medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex.
"We are monitoring the situation carefully as it evolves. We are in conversation with our neighbouring health unit to understand the behaviour of disease in those communities."
The Middlesex-London Health Unit also reported its first case this week.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory infection. It is spread through the air when someone who is sick coughs, sneezes or talks.
Symptoms include:
Fever.
Cough.
Red, watery eyes.
Runny nose.
Koplik spots — small, white spots that occur on the inside of the cheeks.
A rash that usually begins as flat, red spots on the face and spreads to the trunk, arms and legs.
It is estimated nearly one to three of every 1,000 children who become infected will die from complications, such as pneumonia and a swelling of the brain called encephalitis.
There is no specific antiviral treatment for measles infection, which needs to run its course, though medications are available to help manage symptoms.
Droplets containing the measles virus can stay in the air for several hours, and the virus remains infectious on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours.
Am I at risk?
"The people that we're most worried about are unvaccinated people, because they're the people that are most susceptible to getting measles if they're exposed," said Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, acting medical officer of health for Chatham-Kent.
If you have received two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMVR) vaccine, health officials say you are highly protected. According to the Canadian government, the efficacy of one dose of the vaccine is estimated to be between 85 and 95 per cent, with two doses bringing that to 100 per cent.
In Ontario, kids are expected to receive the first vaccine dose at 12 months and then a second dose between four and six years old. To check your of your kids' vaccination status, you can speak with your family doctor, look at your vaccination record or check your record online.
If you were born before 1970, Health Canada says you are considered immune, because it's likely you had the virus at some point in time — though you should still speak with a family doctor to ensure you don't need the vaccine.
The vaccination rates in both Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent are high, so public health officials say the risk of getting measles is still low.
What should I do if my child is too young to be vaccinated?
If your child has not yet been vaccinated because they are younger than 12 months, Nesathurai advises that you speak with your family doctor or local public health unit about how to best protect them.
"If your children are unwell, then it's better to be safe ... better to take them to the doctor or to your nurse practitioner and have someone look at the child," he said.
If parents suspect their child has measles or been exposed, Nesathurai says they should call in advance to their clinic or doctor's office so they can take all precautions to make sure no one else in the waiting room gets exposed.
Parents can also stay up to date on measles exposure locations by going to their local public health unit website. There are currently several locations listed between Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent where people could have been exposed.
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