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Hamilton Spectator
24-07-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario reported new measles cases in 4 areas this past week — here's where
Ontario reported 22 new measles cases related to a multi-jurisdictional outbreak over the past week. The 22 new cases were reported in four areas of the province: Grand Erie, Huron Perth, Chatham-Kent and Middlesex-London public health unit areas. The latest figures bring Ontario's total measles case count connected to a multi-jurisdictional and a travel-related outbreak first reported in New Brunswick on Oct. 18 to 2,298 (1,984 confirmed, 314 probable). Public Health Ontario released the information on July 24 in its enhanced epidemiological summary, which includes information up to July 22 at 7 a.m. So far in 2025, there have been 2,301 measles cases (2,013 confirmed, 288 probable) reported in Ontario — 40 of which weren't linked to the multi-jurisdictional outbreak and are not included in the outbreak numbers. The latest summary shows among all outbreak cases, 73.6 per cent were infants, children and adolescents and 25.8 per cent were adults. the age of the remaining patients is unknown. Among the infants, children and adolescents, 95.9 per cent were unimmunized, while 68.9 per cent of the adult cases were among people who were not immunized. There were 162 people hospitalized, 153 of whom were not immunized, including 119 children. Twelve people were admitted to the intensive care unit. One person, an infant with a congenital case of measles and other underlying medical conditions, has died this year . There have been 49 outbreak cases among pregnant people and nine cases of congenital measles (measles diagnosed within the first 10 days of life). The Ontario summary includes the total number of outbreak-related cases since Oct. 18, 2024, reported by each public health unit. The case count and the number of new cases this week, as of July 22, was as follows: Ontarians can check the Public Health Ontario website to see potential exposure locations, including the time and date of possible exposure. U.S.-based National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said measles is the most contagious virus known to humans. Each infected person can potentially infect 18 people, each of whom can go on to infect another 18 people. It estimates 90 per cent of unvaccinated people who are exposed will get measles. Measles is a contagious viral illness, spread through airborne particles. Initial symptoms include fever, red runny eyes, runny nose and cough, followed by a red rash that starts on the face and then moves to the rest of the body, said the Public Health Agency of Canada. Diarrhea, pneumonia and ear infections are also common. Measles can lead to swelling of the brain, respiratory failure, blindness, deafness or death. Diagnosing measles is done through a nasal swab, blood or urine test. Most people with measles recover at home within two to three weeks by resting and drinking plenty of fluids. There are no specific antiviral treatments for a measles infection, but people with severe symptoms may require hospitalization. If you think you may have measles, do not go to a health-care facility or office without calling ahead first, Health Canada said. Ensure the facility knows you might have measles, so they can take appropriate precautions to prevent the spread to others as soon as you arrive. If you want to inquire about a measles vaccination, consult with a health-care provider or your local health unit. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario saw biggest spike in measles cases at this popular vacation hot spot
Ontario saw 32 new measles cases during the past week, including 19 in Huron Perth, an area known for its blue flag beaches and vibrant cultural scene . The popular vacation area, which includes Stratford, Goderich and Clinton, saw the biggest jump in new measles cases in the past week. Algoma Public Health had the second-largest rise in new cases with eight. The latest update from Public Health Ontario noted the province has reported 2,276 measles cases (1,961 confirmed, 315 probable) since last fall, as of July 15. All cases are connected to a multi-jurisdictional, travel-related outbreak first reported in New Brunswick on Oct. 18. Among all outbreak cases, the majority — 73.3 per cent or 1,669 — occurred among infants, children and adolescents 19 or younger; while 26.1 per cent were adults and 0.6 per cent had an unknown age. Almost all infant, child and adolescent outbreak cases (96.3 per cent) were unimmunized and 68.5 per cent of infected adults were unimmunized. In 2025, 2,278 measles cases (1,989 confirmed, 289 probable) have been reported in Ontario as of July 15. All but 39 cases were linked with the multi-jurisdictional outbreak in New Brunswick. There were 150 people hospitalized, 141 of whom were not immunized, including 108 children. Twelve people were admitted to the intensive care unit. One person, an infant with a congenital case of measles and other underlying medical conditions, has died. There have been 47 outbreak cases among pregnant people and eight cases of congenital measles (measles diagnosed within the first 10 days of life). Public Health Ontario released the information in its enhanced epidemiological summary, which includes information up to July 15 at 7 a.m. The Ontario summary includes the total number of outbreak-related cases since Oct. 18, 2024, reported by each public health unit. Ontarians can check the Public Health Ontario website to see potential exposure locations, including the time and date of possible exposure. U.S.-based National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said measles is the most contagious virus known to humans. Each infected person can potentially infect 18 people, each of whom can go on to infect another 18 people. It estimates 90 per cent of unvaccinated people who are exposed will get measles. Measles is a contagious viral illness, spread through airborne particles. Initial symptoms include fever, red runny eyes, runny nose and cough, followed by a red rash that starts on the face and then moves to the rest of the body, said the Public Health Agency of Canada. Diarrhea, pneumonia and ear infections are also common. Measles can lead to swelling of the brain, respiratory failure, blindness, deafness or death. Diagnosing measles is done through a nasal swab, blood or urine test. Most people with measles recover at home within two to three weeks by resting and drinking plenty of fluids. There are no specific antiviral treatments for a measles infection, but people with severe symptoms may require hospitalization. If you think you may have measles, do not go to a health-care facility or office without calling ahead first, Health Canada said. Ensure the facility knows you might have measles, so they can take appropriate precautions to prevent the spread to others as soon as you arrive. If you want to inquire about a measles vaccination, consult with a health-care provider or your local health unit. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
20-06-2025
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario reports another 96 outbreak-related measles cases over a week
Nearly 100 people became sick with measles in Ontario over the past week, with a large chunk of them being from the Algoma area. Public Health Ontario's latest measles update, released June 19, shows 96 new cases were reported during the past week — all connected to a multi-jurisdictional, travel-related outbreak first reported in New Brunswick on Oct. 18. This brings Ontario's outbreak-related total since Oct. 18 to 2,179 (1,871 confirmed, 308 probable) cases. Thirty-four of those new cases were reported by Algoma Public Health. Public Health Ontario released the information in its enhanced epidemiological summary, which includes information up to June 17 at 7 a.m. A week earlier, the province reported 74 new cases. Thus far in 2025, there have been 2,188 measles cases (1,906 confirmed, 282 probable) reported in Ontario, 46 of which were not linked to the multi-jurisdictional outbreak and are not included in the outbreak numbers. The latest summary shows among all outbreak cases, 73.8 per cent were infants, children and adolescents and 25.6 per cent were adults — the rest of the patients have an unknown age. Among the infants, children and adolescents, 96.3 per cent were unimmunized, while 67.6 per cent of the adult cases were among people who were not immunized. There were 149 people hospitalized, 136 of whom were not immunized, including 107 children. Eleven people were admitted to the intensive care unit. One person, an infant with a congenital case of measles and other underlying medical conditions, has died. There have been 44 outbreak cases among pregnant people and seven cases of congenital measles (measles diagnosed within the first 10 days of life). The Ontario summary includes the total number of outbreak-related cases since Oct. 18 reported by each public health unit. The case count and the number of new cases this week, as of June 10, was as follows. Ontarians can check the Public Health Ontario website to see potential exposure locations, including the time and date of possible exposure. U.S.-based National Foundation for Infectious Diseases said measles is the most contagious virus known to humans: Each infected person can potentially infect 18 people, each of whom can go on to infect another 18 people. It added, 90 per cent of unvaccinated people who are exposed will get measles. Measles is a contagious viral illness, spread through airborne particles. Initial symptoms include fever, red runny eyes, runny nose and cough, followed by a red rash that starts on the face and then moves to the rest of the body, said the Public Health Agency of Canada. Diarrhea, pneumonia and ear infections are also common. Measles can lead to swelling of the brain, respiratory failure, blindness, deafness or death. Diagnosing measles is done through a nasal swab, blood or urine test. Most people with measles recover at home within two to three weeks by resting and drinking plenty of fluids. There are no specific antiviral treatments for a measles infection, but people with severe symptoms may require hospitalization. If you think you may have measles, do not go to a health-care facility or office without calling ahead first, Health Canada said. Ensure the facility knows you might have measles, so they can take appropriate precautions to prevent the spread to others as soon as you arrive. If you want to inquire about a measles vaccination, consult with a health-care provider or your local health unit. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
4 biggest handwashing mistakes that could increase germs and viruses
Proper handwashing could save a million lives a year, according to an expert — and yet many people are doing it improperly, often due to misconceptions surrounding the practice. Doctors recommend washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. The NFID 2025 State of Handwashing Report, recently released by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, provides details on Americans' handwashing habits (and mistakes). Why Your Laundry Could Be Making You Sick And What To Do About It The report is based on a survey of 3,587 U.S. adults, conducted in November and December 2024 and March 2025. Robert Hopkins Jr., MD, medical director of NFID in Maryland, spoke to Fox News Digital about what Americans are doing wrong when it comes to handwashing. Read On The Fox News App "We have to recognize that there are a number of important infections that hand sanitizers are not effective at preventing," Hopkins said. One example is norovirus, a highly contagious stomach virus that is common on cruise ships and is also spread seasonally. The virus cannot be killed with hand sanitizer, but is "easily destroyed" with soap and water, according to Hopkins. A Common Killer Bug Is Endangering Americans: 'Pandemic In Plain Sight' Certain viruses are "encapsulated" and can be destroyed with either soap and water or hand sanitizer, the expert said. However, there is also an "unencapsulated" type of virus, which has an outer coat that does not break down from the alcohol in hand sanitizer. Using soap and water is a more effective way to kill the germs, the doctor noted. When people cough or sneeze into their sleeve, they could still spread germs afterward. "If you cough into your sleeve … go ahead and wash your hands with soap and water as well," Hopkins advised. Common Medical Test Linked To 5% Of Cancers, Study Suggests: 'Use Them Wisely' "We also have to recognize that we often bring our hands up close to our face, touch our nose, our glasses, other parts of our face," noted the doctor, who is based in Arkansas. "If we have bacteria or viruses on our hands, we can introduce them into our mucous membranes, where we can get infections." The NFID report stated that one in four respondents washed their hands more frequently in the fall and winter, when cold and flu are prevalent. "The seasonal variance is understandable given that some respiratory diseases, including flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), tend to peak during fall and winter," the report stated. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "However, other germs — like those that cause colds, norovirus and other infectious diseases — can spread throughout the year. It is important to maintain proper hand hygiene all year round to help stay healthy." Most adults wash their hands after using the bathroom (69%), handling food (48%) and handling human or animal waste (39%), according to NFID's report. Only 30% of respondents, however, reported that they are likely to wash their hands after sneezing or coughing. Nearly half of survey respondents admitted to forgetting or choosing not to wash their hands at key times, like after visiting a grocery store, restaurant, doctor's office, pharmacy, clinic or hospital. "We need to reinforce the importance of this simple tool," Hopkins said of handwashing. "I think most of the public health campaigns around hand hygiene have been focused on healthcare settings," he added. Regarding handwashing as a practice in general, Hopkins emphasized, "We need to bring this back into the fold." For more Health articles, visit "If everybody washed their hands more consistently, we could probably save somewhere in the neighborhood of a million lives a year."Original article source: 4 biggest handwashing mistakes that could increase germs and viruses
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
In El Paso, measles is infecting more adults than children
As soon as measles started spreading in West Texas, El Paso health officials began preparing schools and day care facilities for the day the virus would inevitably arrive. But now that it's here, it's not kids who are making up the brunt of the cases — it's adults. Two-thirds of El Paso's cases so far are among people over the age of 18, and only 7% are among school-age children. Anyone unvaccinated can contract measles, but it tends to hit children first and hardest. Most children are not fully vaccinated until they are five years old and they spend more time than adults in congregate settings where the virus can spread quickly. More families of young children are opting out of vaccines, leaving them exposed. Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, followed this traditional path, starting with school-age children before spreading to adults. Almost six months into what is now the country's largest measles outbreak since 2000, Texas' 722 cases are about evenly spread between the three age groups the state divides them into: under four, 5-17 and adults. El Paso stands out for its high rate of adult infections. The county only has 56 cases so far, the third-highest among Texas counties but still too small of a sample size to conclude much, public health experts say. But if this trend holds, it may be a credit to El Paso's high vaccination rates among kids — 96% of kindergartners and 98% of seventh graders are fully vaccinated for measles, higher than the percent required to maintain herd immunity. The state does not track adult vaccination rates. 'That is one of the protective factors that we feel is helping us,' said El Paso public health authority Hector Ocaranza. 'But still we're going to continue to see cases of measles that are going to be clustering in some of the schools or day cares that have low immunization rates.' These surprising initial statistics have required public health officials to change their outbreak response on the fly. They're aiming more of their vaccination events specifically at adults, especially as many health care providers who serve adults do not have the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine on hand the way pediatricians do. 'Most of the adults, they don't remember whether they've had the MMR vaccine,' Ocaranza said. 'They were kids, and nobody has a shot record.' Adults unsure of whether they were vaccinated as children can safely get another round of the shots, said Patsy Stinchfield, past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and a measles expert. 'If you did have two [shots] already, it will only make your full antibody cup even fuller,' Stinchfield said. Older adults especially should consult with their doctor about their immunization status, she said. People born before 1957 are presumed immune, since the virus was so common back then, but some people who got an early version of the vaccine between 1963 and 1967 may not have gotten the same protection as later shots. The exceptions, she said, are people who are immunocompromised, pregnant women or the tiny minority of people who have had a bad reaction to the vaccine in the past. Those people are counting on everyone else's vaccination status to keep them healthy. Healthy adults are generally able to fight off the worst of a measles infection, but anyone who gets infected runs the risk of it morphing into pneumonia or worse, said Ben Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University. Three of the five hospitalizations in El Paso so far are in adults. And anyone with measles will spread it in the community, potentially to children too young to be vaccinated who are especially vulnerable to the worst outcomes, like encephalitis, deafness, blindness and permanent brain damage. 'Especially kids two years and under, their immune systems are just bad at everything,' Neuman said. 'We're all sort of helping them out with our herd immunity.' Neuman said it's possible that El Paso's high rate of adult cases is 'the first sign of something weird,' but he anticipates the data will start to look more normal as more people get tested. El Paso borders the Mexican state of Chihuahua, where the outbreak that originated in Texas has taken hold due to the large Mennonite communities in both places. Ocaranza said measles doesn't respect borders, and he anticipates it spreading vociferously on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico line now that it's in El Paso. The messaging is the same, whether it's children or adults who are testing positive, in Mexico or the United States, he said: Get vaccinated. 'We welcome anybody who needs the vaccine,' he said. 'We can vaccinate regardless of their place of residence, regardless of their immigration status, regardless of the ability to pay … Everyone needs to join forces to stop this.' Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. First round of TribFest speakers announced! Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd; U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio; Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker; U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California; and U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas are taking the stage Nov. 13–15 in Austin. Get your tickets today!
