Latest news with #Sookram
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alberta ramps up measles vaccination push as 3 children in intensive care
EDMONTON — Alberta's government says three children are in intensive care in hospital after contracting measles. A health ministry spokesperson declined to disclose their ages, citing privacy concerns. At a news conference Monday, Dr. Sunil Sookram, Alberta's interim chief medical officer of health, said there have been no deaths. Sookram said the risk of getting the highly contagious disease in Alberta is at its greatest point in almost 30 years. He was appointed to the role last month after the province's former top public health official declined to stay on when his contract ended. "Up until now we thought the disease had been eradicated, but things have changed," said Sookram. "Measles is now circulating in several areas in our province, and it's quite concerning." Alberta reported 55 new cases Monday, bringing the provincial total to 265 since the beginning of March. The majority of confirmed cases are in children, with 77 of those under five. Alberta Health Services also issued an alert warning that an individual who was contagious recently attended the south Edmonton Cineplex Odeon movie theatre. The health authority said anyone who attended the theatre on April 26 between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. and who hasn't received two doses of the measles vaccine is at risk. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced that the government will be launching a vaccination campaign featuring advertising in a variety of formats and languages, as well as a measles hotline. "The campaign is simple: 'Don't get measles. Get immunized,'" she said, adding that the government is also looking to provide daycares with information for parents. LaGrange said the government's existing social media advertising campaign encouraging Albertans to check their vaccination status has been a success, but "we realize we need to do more." "Our hope is that this awareness campaign increases immunization rates and makes sure that Albertans have the access to information that they require as well," LaGrange said. "Getting immunized against measles is the single most important thing you can do to protect your loved ones and yourself and your community." LaGrange said close to 90 per cent of the confirmed cases this year involve people who weren't vaccinated. The government's vaccine push is also to include expanded clinic hours in Alberta's central and south zones, which Sookram said have seen almost 80 per cent of the cases, including all but four of the new ones reported Monday. Dr. Ifeoma Achebe, the central zone's medical officer of health, said measles vaccination rates need to reach 95 per cent to prevent a more widespread outbreak. Vaccination rates in communities in her area range from 72 per cent to 90 per cent, she said. Opposition NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said the United Conservative Party government's campaign is too little, too late. "People are getting sick because the government hasn't taken vaccines seriously and they haven't done their job on public health," Hoffman told reporters. She also said a government campaign should have been launched shortly after cases were reported elsewhere, such as Ontario, which has been experiencing an outbreak since October. LaGrange said the government has responded to the situation as needed over the past two months. "It's just as more is needed, more has to be done," she said. Measles symptoms include fever, coughing, a runny nose, red eyes and a blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025. Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press
CBC
05-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Alberta government beefs up measles defence as cases rival 1980s levels
The Alberta government says it is taking new steps to rein in the province's measles outbreaks as case counts surge to the highest levels since 1987. The province reported an additional 55 cases on Monday, pushing the total since the outbreaks began in March to 265. The last time the province saw more measles cases was in 1987, when 690 were confirmed. And measles is taking a serious toll in Alberta. The province has confirmed that, as of the weekend, three patients under the age of 18 were in intensive care due to the virus. "Measles is preventable and the time to act is now," said Dr. Sunil Sookram, Alberta's interim chief medical officer of health. Sookram made the comments alongside Health Minister Adriana LaGrange on Monday morning, in the first government press conference on measles since the outbreaks began. He said he wants to ensure Albertans are armed with science-based information as he underscored the measles vaccine is safe and effective. "We know this to be true because according to recent studies it has saved the lives of over 154 million people in the last half century. The vast majority of lives saved — 101 million — were infants or children." Alberta's south and central zones continue to be the hardest hit. "These are areas where vaccination coverage has fallen — sometimes due to concern about safety, sometimes due to cultural beliefs and sometimes due to misinformation," said Sookram. Vaccination rates in pockets of those regions are far below the 95 per cent threshold experts say is needed for population-level protection. Forty-eight new cases were confirmed in the south zone over the weekend, bringing the total there to 154. The central zone reported three new cases for a total of 75 since the outbreaks began. Three new cases were reported in the Calgary zone and one in the Edmonton zone. "It is the unimmunized and under-immunized that are most affected," said LaGrange. There have been no deaths reported due to measles in Alberta this year. Ad campaign to launch, immunization expanded The Alberta government is expanding access to immunization with more appointments being added at clinics in the south and central zones. "Getting immunized against measles is the single most important thing you can do to protect your loved ones and yourself and your community, especially those young infants who have just come into the world and aren't able to be immunized, as well as pregnant women and those with certain immuno-compromising conditions," said LaGrange. In the south zone, evening and weekend immunization appointments are being opened up, and in the central zone, clinics are offering walk-in vaccination and there are some evening as well as Saturday appointments. Alberta Health Services (AHS) is also prepared to extend hours and open extra clinic space around the province based on demand, according to the government. The province has launched a measles hotline, which will fast-track questions about immunization status and vaccine appointments as well as provide advice to people with measles symptoms. That hotline, set up though Health Link, can be reached at 1-844-944-3434. Next week, the government will also launch an ad campaign through radio, print, digital and social media, including translations into 14 languages. The online ads will be translated into French, Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Tagalog, according to the province. The radio campaign will include Arabic, French, Hindi, Korean, Farsi, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese. Public health officials are also reaching out to physicians, public health nurses and faith leaders in impacted communities, according to LaGrange. "It really is how do we develop trusting relationships with those communities that are under-immunized or unimmunized? How do we get the information out? It is reaching them in their own languages, developing those trusting relationships," she said. In the central zone, health officials are working with affected schools as well, communicating with principals and superintendents, according to the central zone's medical officer of health, Dr. Ifeoma Achebe. In addition, babies living or travelling to the south, central and north zones are eligible for an early (and extra) dose of the measles vaccine in addition to the routine immunization schedule, which recommends doses at 12 and 18 months of age. Plans are also in the works for standalone measles assessment and treatment centres, according to Sookram. "AHS and the ministry have been working together to fine tune that plan. When the threshold has been met to implement the plan — like we've done for influenza, like we did for COVID — and there's a need for that service in particular, I think we'll be prepared to launch that," he said. Timing concerns "It really should have happened about a month ago," said Dr. Sam Wong, president of the section of pediatrics with the Alberta Medical Association. He's has been calling for stronger messaging from the province and increased vaccination access since measles cases first started being reported. "Now you have outbreaks in these smaller areas of central zone and south zone. Maybe that could have been prevented. Maybe we didn't need to get [265] cases before we have a press conference." He's worried about the snowballing case numbers. "It's really disheartening to hear that the last time we had case numbers this high was in 1987, which is when we didn't have the second dose of measles vaccinations," said Wong. Meanwhile, when asked how confident he is the outbreaks can be reined in, given the situation in Ontario where case counts have topped 1,200, Sookram said it will take some time. "We are now taking active steps through immunization programs to try and stem that growth. It'll take a couple of weeks to months to see the fruits of that effort. It's not a quick thing," he said. Despite the escalating situation, health officials have not yet declared a provincewide measles outbreak. LaGrange said cases would have to be continuing to climb in all zones, which she said is not happening in the Calgary or Edmonton zones. Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain swelling and even death. According to the provincial government's website, between one and three out of every 1,000 people with measles will die. Measles symptoms include: High fever. Cough. Runny nose. Red eyes. Blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts.
Toronto Star
05-05-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
Alberta ramps up measles vaccination push as 3 children in intensive care
EDMONTON - Alberta's government says three children are in intensive care in hospital after contracting measles. A health ministry spokesperson said in an email that the government wouldn't disclose their ages out of concern for privacy. At a press conference Monday, Dr. Sunil Sookram, Alberta's interim chief medical officer of health, said there have been no deaths. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Sookram said the risk of getting the highly contagious disease in Alberta is at its greatest point in almost 30 years. He was appointed to the role last month, after the province's former top public health official declined to stay on when his contract ended. 'Up until now we thought the disease had been eradicated, but things have changed,' said Sookram. 'Measles is now circulating in several areas in our province, and it's quite concerning.' Alberta reported 55 new cases Monday, bringing the provincial total to 265 since the beginning of March. The majority of confirmed cases are in children, with 77 of those under five. Alberta Health Services also issued an alert warning that an individual who was contagious recently attended the south Edmonton Cineplex Odeon movie theatre. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The health authority said anyone who attended the theatre on April 26 between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. the next morning and who hasn't received two doses of the measles vaccine is at risk. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced that the government will be launching a vaccination campaign featuring advertising in a variety of formats and languages, as well as a measles hotline. 'The campaign is simple: 'Don't get measles. Get immunized,'' she said, adding that the government is also looking to provide daycares with information for parents. LaGrange said the government's existing social media advertising campaign encouraging Albertans to check their vaccination status has been a success, but 'we realize we need to do more.' 'Our hope is that this awareness campaign increases immunization rates and makes sure that Albertans have the access to information that they require as well,' LaGrange said. 'Getting immunized against measles is the single most important thing you can do to protect your loved ones and yourself and your community.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW LaGrange said close to 90 per cent of the confirmed cases this year involve people who weren't vaccinated. The government's vaccine push is also to include expanded clinic hours in Alberta's central and south zones, which Sookram said have seen almost 80 per cent of the cases, including all but four of the new ones reported Monday. 'These are areas where vaccine coverage has fallen, sometimes due to concerns about safety, sometimes due to cultural beliefs and sometimes due to misinformation,' Sookram said. 'For whatever reason, the results are the same. When fewer people are protected, measles spreads and the risks go up.' Dr. Ifeoma Achebe, the central zone's medical officer of health, said measles vaccination rates need to reach 95 per cent to prevent a more widespread outbreak. Vaccination rates in communities in her area range from 72 per cent to 90 per cent, she said. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Opposition NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman said the United Conservative Party government's campaign is too little too late. 'There is no way things should have been left to get this bad,' Hoffman said in a statement. 'Waiting for more than 200 infections and people in (intensive care) to act is a complete failure to protect Albertans from a preventable disease.' LaGrange said the government has responded to the situation as needed over the past two months. 'It's just as more is needed, more has to be done,' she said. Measles symptoms include fever, coughing, a runny nose, red eyes and a blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2025.
CBC
18-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Alberta appoints interim chief medical officer of health as province grapples with measles outbreaks
The Alberta government appointed Dr. Sunil Sookram as interim chief medical officer of health Thursday amid growing measles outbreaks and after the previous top doctor left the role earlier this week. Sookram takes over for Dr. Mark Joffe, whose contract ended on Monday, after it had been extended for two weeks. Premier Danielle Smith confirmed this week that Joffe left of his own accord. He had been the province's top doctor since 2022. In a statement, the province said Sookram's temporary appointment ensures continuity while arrangements are finalized for a longer-term replacement. More information will be shared in the coming weeks as the process progresses, the province said. Sookram is currently the facility medical director and chief of medical staff at Strathcona Community Hospital in Sherwood Park. He is also a clinical professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alberta and practises as an emergency physician at the University of Alberta Hospital, the province says. "I'm happy to serve as Alberta's interim chief medical officer of health. I look forward to working with the government, my colleagues and health partners to promote and protect the health of all Albertans," Sookram said in a statement. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said Sookram has served Albertans through his career in emergency medicine and he brings a wealth of experience to the role. "I appreciate his willingness to serve in this capacity on a temporary basis as we work to finalize the candidate for the interim chief medical officer of health position. I also wish to thank Dr. Mark Joffe for his service and dedication over the past three years," LaGrange said in a statement. Measles cases continue to climb There were six new cases of measles in Alberta reported on Thursday: four in the central zone, one in the Calgary zone and one in the south zone. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to date to 89. Of those, 83 individuals are now past the period of communicability, the province says. Measles symptoms include: High fever. Cough. Runny nose. Red eyes. A blotchy, red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever starts. Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 if they have measles symptoms or think they've been exposed, before visiting a hospital, clinic or health care providers such as pharmacists.
