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Third case of measles found in Sussex region

Third case of measles found in Sussex region

CBC15-07-2025
As a measles outbreak in the Sussex region worsens, Public Health is asking those experiencing symptoms to avoid emergency rooms.
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Doctors brace for potential measles surge in Calgary as Alberta's outbreaks drag on
Doctors brace for potential measles surge in Calgary as Alberta's outbreaks drag on

CBC

time2 hours ago

  • CBC

Doctors brace for potential measles surge in Calgary as Alberta's outbreaks drag on

Social Sharing Health experts are keeping a close eye on the measles situation in Calgary as case counts tick up and they're warning that vigilance is key. With a new case reported in the Calgary health zone on Friday, the number of confirmed cases has nearly doubled in about a month after remaining relatively low and stable for several months. As of midday Friday, the zone accounted for 44 of the province's 1,538 confirmed cases this year. "We have more to come and I think that this is the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Tania Principi, a pediatric emergency physician and associate clinical professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine. She's seeing an increase in Calgary children with measles. And they can be very sick, she warned. "A lot of these kids get quite significant pneumonias, trouble breathing. They've needed to go to the ICU," she said. "Measles is dangerous. People can die from it.... You can have brain damage from it. So it's not just like a cold." Measles is highly contagious and can hang in the air for several hours after a person leaves a location. The virus can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation, premature delivery and even death. And there is no treatment for measles, according to Principi. "I'm worried, to be honest.... People start spreading measles even before they know they have it.," she said. She expects to see a bigger surge in the coming weeks. "With festivals,... people travelling and vacation, I anticipate that we're going to see a lot more measles especially in Calgary, but throughout the province, [through] the summer and as kids go back to school in the fall," said Principi. "The only way we can stop the spread is ensuring that people are vaccinated and if people do have symptoms that they stay home. But otherwise unfortunately this is going to continue to spread and our numbers are going to continue to increase." Vaccination rates "My level of concern is very high. And Calgary, and the north, are at the top of that concern," said Dr. James Talbot, a former chief medical officer of health for Alberta. He made the comments in response to a question from CBC News at a recent expert panel hosted by the Alberta Medical Association. While the north and south health zones continue to be the hardest hit parts of the province, Talbot sees worrying signs in Calgary. Some of the locations identified in the most recent Alberta Health Services measles exposure advisories include the emergency department at Alberta Children's Hospital, the ER at South Health Campus and the Glenmore Landing location of Alberta Precision Laboratories. "Calgary has amongst the better immunization rates in this age group, but it's well below the 95 per cent that's required for protection." According to provincial data, 74 per cent of children in the Calgary zone who turned two years old in 2024 were up-to-date with two doses of the measles vaccine. The provincial average was 68 per cent. That vaccination rate has, so far, prevented community-level transmission, according to the University of Calgary's Craig Jenne. "Because we're not truly at herd immunity, there is a risk that the virus can find an under-vaccinated population in the city and maintain some spread," said Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases. "We have to be quite aware of that and hopefully we can stay on top of contact tracing, exposure alerts and anybody that may be at risk of contracting measles, and has been exposed, can self-isolate and get help as needed to really reduce the risk of this getting a foothold in the city." Jenne said a lot of the cases in Calgary appear to be travel-related because locations such as hotels and the airport have been included in AHS exposure alerts. The more cases that are brought into the city, the more likely the virus will find under-vaccinated groups and spark more widespread transmission in Calgary, he warned. "Unfortunately the more times it's challenged, the more cases that appear, the more likely it is the virus will find a little daylight and be able to spread," said Jenne, who's also the deputy director of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Visitor restrictions Meanwhile, visitor restrictions are in place at some Alberta hospitals now, as health officials work to reduce the risk of measles spreading to vulnerable patients. Alberta Health Services (AHS) said temporary limits can be put in place in locations including pediatric hospitals, cancer treatment sites, labour and delivery units, as well as neonatal intensive care units and pediatric intensive care units AHS says it's up to zone leadership to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to implement these restrictions and compassionate exemptions will be considered. "As the measles situation continues to be dynamic, this approach allows zone leadership to determine whether restrictions are needed to support the well-being of patients," spokesperson Kristi Bland said in a statement emailed on Friday. "In areas such as Edmonton and Calgary, where measles cases currently remain low, these precautions may be implemented due to the potential risk posed by visitors from regions with substantial measles circulation. They are not a response to increased risk or transmission within Calgary or Edmonton."

Syphilis cases in N.L. up by over 150% since 2023 amid ongoing outbreak in Labrador-Grenfell
Syphilis cases in N.L. up by over 150% since 2023 amid ongoing outbreak in Labrador-Grenfell

CBC

time5 hours ago

  • CBC

Syphilis cases in N.L. up by over 150% since 2023 amid ongoing outbreak in Labrador-Grenfell

Syphilis numbers continue to rise in Newfoundland and Labrador, having increased by about 155 per cent since 2023, according to data from the provincial Department of Health. The first seven months of the year saw a 47-per-cent increase in cases, from 95 in 2024 to 140 as of July 2025. According to the province's chief medical officer of health, the development doesn't come as a surprise. "This is a significant increase," said Dr. Janice Fitzgerald. "But that's not out of keeping with what we've been seeing elsewhere in the country." A rise in syphilis has been observed across Canada for the past several years, having increased by 77 per cent from 2018 to 2023, when 12,135 cases were recorded. While still far below the national level, cases in the province started going up in 2024, after a nine-year period with an average of only 38 cases annually, with 55 reported at most. Last September, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services declared an outbreak of the infection in the Labrador-Grenfell zone, which is also where 80 per cent of this year's cases have been reported. "When you have an outbreak, of course, we go in and we're diligently looking for cases, doing contact tracing, that sort of thing," said Fitzgerald. "So, we do expect to find more cases just simply because we're looking for them." With syphilis cases in N.L. on the rise, experts hope to curb numbers with increased testing 60 minutes ago The sexually transmitted and blood-borne disease has been a growing concern for health-care professionals across the country for years. In Newfoundland and Labrador, case numbers increased by over 150 per cent over the past two years, causing those in sexual health care to promote regular testing. So far, 15 cases of congenital syphilis, passed on to a baby during pregnancy or childbirth, have been recorded — a concern, according to Fitzgerald. "That can have significant implications on the development of the fetus as well as long-term neurological problems and other behavioural issues," she said. The rise of syphilis is also closely watched by those in the field of sexual health, like the provincial AIDS Committee. "Things are climbing quite steeply but not quite as high as we're seeing in other parts of the country," said Julia Abundo, provincial coordinator of HIV and hepatitis C services. "Trends typically move west to east when it comes to these kinds of things. So, we're worried about a potential continued increase." While experts aren't sure what has caused rates to spike back up, Abundo said there are theories about decreased condom use among youth, and lower testing numbers due to the pandemic. In response, the committee partnered with community and government bodies for its new campaign "Know More, Test More," targeted at raising awareness of the disease and increasing testing numbers. "Syphilis kind of sounds older. It's been around for a long time and we were actually quite close to eradicating syphilis," said Abundo. "There's a lot of feeling that 'this can't happen to me. This only happens to certain people.' The thing is, with STIs and STBBIs, those can happen to anybody who's sexually active." Which role pharmacies can play in sexual health care, and in the prevention, testing and treatment of syphilis, has been the subject of research led by Debbie Kelly, a professor at Memorial University's School of Pharmacy and a pharmacist with the provincial HIV program. "One of the really interesting findings was the number of first-time testers that we reached…. As many as 60 per cent of the people who were tested in our study had never been tested for syphilis before," she said. "That sort of tells us that, if the study was not available, people were not accessing testing or didn't have access to testing or maybe didn't want to avail, for whatever reason, of other testing options." She said as syphilis, like other sexually transmitted infections, is often asymptomatic, and people often don't know they're affected, regular testing should become a part of people's health-care checkups — just like pap tests or flu shots. "We need to sort of normalize testing, and normalize just getting advice and information," said Kelly. She believes that pharmacies can play an important role in making different testing options for still-stigmatized STIs more accessible, especially for residents in tight-knit rural communities. "If they run into someone they know in a pharmacy, they could be there getting a flu shot or picking up a carton of milk," said Kelly. "There's certainly evidence to support pharmacists' role not only in testing but also getting involved in prevention." She said this integration of pharmacy-based sexual health services into the public health-care system, including the expansion of pharmacists' scope of practice to allow them to order lab tests or prescribe preventative medications, is part of ongoing conversations with the provincial government. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald said increased public messaging has already shown a positive impact on syphilis numbers — which, according to numbers from the Department of Health, are steady, with an average of 23 cases reported monthly since the beginning of the year. "There are a lot of things that people have been doing on the ground to try to reduce this," said Fitzgerald. "We are still seeing cases but it's not expanding as fast as it was. So, the growth has slowed to some degree."

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