Latest news with #UniversityofAlbertaHospital
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
AHS warns of another potential measles outbreak as total cases jumps to 724
Alberta Health Services is warning visitors to the University of Alberta Hospital that they may have come in contact with a person infected with measles. In a Tuesday news release, AHS warns that a person from outside Edmonton with a confirmed case of measles came to the city and was seen on May 28 between 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. at the foyer and information desk near the 112 Street entrance to the University of Alberta Hospital. AHS warns that anyone born in or after 1970 who has less than two measles vaccinations and came in contact with this person may be at risk of infection and should watch for the following symptoms: A fever of 38.3 C or higher Cough, runny nose and/or red eyes A red and blotchy rash that appears up to seven days after the fever starts, usually beginning behind the ears and on the face, spreading down to the body and then to the arms and legs. A dose of the measles vaccine must be administered within 72 hours of exposure to prevent infection. Babies under one year of age, people with severely weakened immune systems, and those who are pregnant may be able to receive immunoglobulin within six days of exposure to prevent disease. If you think you have been exposed and you are not protected against measles, you may be able to receive immunization. For more information, call the measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 or text 'Measles' to 88111. This warning comes days after AHS warned of a person with measles visiting West Edmonton Mall and Fort Edmonton Park, which followed a previously confirmed case at a clinic in Spruce Grove. There are currently six known cases of measles infections in Edmonton. On Friday, AHS also issued a 'standing measles exposure advisory' for the entire south health zone. According to the AHS measles page, there are currently 724 known cases of measles in Alberta as of Tuesday, 14 of which are active infections. The south health zone bears the brunt of the infections, with 533, the majority of them between the ages of five and 17 years old. 'This standing advisory will replace the use of separate site-specific exposure advisories, which no longer accurately capture the scope of potential risk at this time,' AHS said in a written statement. The health agency noted it was tracking and managing a large number of measles cases in the area, 'including in individuals with no known exposure source,' it said. In early May, the Alberta government announced measures designed to increase vaccination rates and a public awareness campaign urging Albertans to get vaccinated. Recent visitor to Edmonton has measles: Alberta Health Services exposure alert Another measles alert for Edmonton area after case at Spruce Grove clinic
Edmonton Journal
7 days ago
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
AHS warns of another potential measles outbreak as total cases jumps to 724
There are currently 724 known cases of measles in Alberta as of Tuesday, 14 of which are active infections AHS warns that a person from outside Edmonton with a confirmed case of measles came to the city and was seen on May 28 between 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. at the foyer and information desk near the 112 Street entrance to the University of Alberta Hospital. PROVINCE Alberta Health Services is warning visitors to the University of Alberta Hospital that they may have come in contact with a person infected with measles. In a Tuesday news release, AHS warns that a person from outside Edmonton with a confirmed case of measles came to the city and was seen on May 28 between 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. at the foyer and information desk near the 112 Street entrance to the University of Alberta Hospital. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors AHS warns that anyone born in or after 1970 who has less than two measles vaccinations and came in contact with this person may be at risk of infection and should watch for the following symptoms: A fever of 38.3 C or higher Cough, runny nose and/or red eyes A red and blotchy rash that appears up to seven days after the fever starts, usually beginning behind the ears and on the face, spreading down to the body and then to the arms and legs. A dose of the measles vaccine must be administered within 72 hours of exposure to prevent infection. Babies under one year of age, people with severely weakened immune systems, and those who are pregnant may be able to receive immunoglobulin within six days of exposure to prevent disease. If you think you have been exposed and you are not protected against measles, you may be able to receive immunization. For more information, call the measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 or text 'Measles' to 88111. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This warning comes days after AHS warned of a person with measles visiting West Edmonton Mall and Fort Edmonton Park, which followed a previously confirmed case at a clinic in Spruce Grove. There are currently six known cases of measles infections in Edmonton. On Friday, AHS also issued a 'standing measles exposure advisory' for the entire south health zone. According to the AHS measles page, there are currently 724 known cases of measles in Alberta as of Tuesday, 14 of which are active infections. The south health zone bears the brunt of the infections, with 533, the majority of them between the ages of five and 17 years old. 'This standing advisory will replace the use of separate site-specific exposure advisories, which no longer accurately capture the scope of potential risk at this time,' AHS said in a written statement. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The health agency noted it was tracking and managing a large number of measles cases in the area, 'including in individuals with no known exposure source,' it said. In early May, the Alberta government announced measures designed to increase vaccination rates and a public awareness campaign urging Albertans to get vaccinated. Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. 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CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Alberta ER visits averaged nearly 4 hours last year, report finds
The entrance to the emergency department at Peter Lougheed hospital is pictured in, Calgary, Alta., Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Patients in Alberta's emergency rooms spent a median time of three hours and 48 minutes per visit last year. That's from a new report by the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) that shows wait times in the emergency room have not improved over the past year and have become worse over the last five years. The median length of stay, which is from arrival to discharge, or admission has increased by 54 minutes in Alberta over the past five years. Krystle Wittevrongel, director of research at the MEI, says that Alberta is faring better than some other provinces. 'Despite the fact that Alberta performs better than most Canadian provinces, patients shouldn't be satisfied,' she said. 'They're still faced with wait times that are abnormal in many developed countries, and it remains important to understand that, even within the province, wait times can vary tremendously.' The longest median emergency room stays in Alberta were in the Edmonton region at five hours and 54 minutes and the Calgary region at four hours and 42 minutes. But it was the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton that had the longest median visits provincially at eight hours and 30 minutes. Two other Edmonton hospitals rounded out the top three worst. Wittevrongel says that one Maritime province faired the best when it came to wait times. Newfoundland and Labrador reported the shortest median stay at two hours and 45 minutes, while Quebec had the longest at five hours and 23 minutes. 'In all the provinces, wait times are worse today than they were five years ago, a clear sign that our health-care systems are struggling to provide their patients with timely access to care,' said Wittevrongel. MEI submitted freedom of information requests to each province seeking information on wait times. Data for Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia was not available. The full MEI publication can be accessed online.
CTV News
7 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Potential measles exposure at University of Alberta hospital
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is alerting the public of a potential measles exposure in Edmonton. The health authority said it was notified that a person with a confirmed case of measles from outside of the city travelled to the University of Alberta Hospital on May 28. Individuals who were at the 112 Street entrance, foyer, and/or information desk at the hospital between 7 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. on that day may have been exposed. Anyone who was at the locations during the specified times, who was born in or after 1970 and has less than two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine, may be at risk of developing measles, said AHS in a statement issued Thursday morning. If you think you have been exposed and are not protected against measles, you can receive immunization to reduce the risk of infection within 72 hours. Babies under one, people with severely weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant may be able to receive immunoglobulin within six days of exposure to prevent infection. Measles vaccines are offered free of charge through Alberta's immunization program. The vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection and is recommended in two doses, the first at one year of age and the second at 18 months. Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3 C or higher, cough, runny nose and or/red eyes as well as a rash that appears three to seven days after a fever starts. The rash usually begins behind the ears and on the face, spreading down to the body to the arms and legs. The rash appears red and blotchy on lighter skin colours and can look purple on darker skin colours. AHS warns that complications of measles can include ear infections, pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, premature delivery and seldom, death. As of Monday afternoon, there are 31 active cases of measles in Alberta—13 in the south zone and 14 in the north zone. There have been a total of 710 measles cases in Alberta this year, 520 of which were in the south zone.
Medscape
05-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Rentable E-Scooter Injuries an Increasing Burden in Edmonton
Rental electric scooter (e-scooter) injuries among adults are increasingly common in a large Canadian city. Men and women are presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in Edmonton with multiple injuries that represent 'substantial burdens' to patients and the Canadian healthcare system, a new analysis suggested. Most e-scooter use in Edmonton involves rentals, as the use of privately owned e-scooters on city property is prohibited. 'We were surprised by the high percentage of ambulance use (20%), as well as the required post-ED visit follow-up, with 30% of patients requiring further follow-up and almost 10% of patients requiring surgery within 30 days of presenting to an ED following an e-scooter injury,' lead author Erin Bristow, MD, an emergency medicine doctor at University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton, told Medscape Medical News . Erin Bristow, MD 'The incidence of head injuries was notable (17%), as was the high rate of fractures (32%) among the patients studied,' she said. The study was published on April 17 in the Canadian Journal of Surgery . Multiple Injuries Common To determine the incidence and severity of injuries from rentable e-scooters among adults presenting to Edmonton EDs, researchers investigated 759 e-scooter–related injury presentations during three summer seasons (2019-2021). The patients' median age was 28 years. Men and women were almost equally represented. About 20% of patients presented by ambulance, and 14% were triaged as urgent. Most patients (61.5%) had multiple injuries, and fractures (31.9%) and head injuries (17%) were common. Helmet use was rare (2.4%), but concomitant substance use was common (26.4%). Most patients (76.3%) underwent investigations during their ED visit, and 11% required a consulting service while in the ED. Only 5.5% of patients were admitted to the hospital, but 30% required further follow-up. This group included 9.1% of patients requiring surgery within 30 days of their primary visit to an ED, 10.3% of patients re-presenting to an ED, and 9.7% requiring a formal outpatient follow-up visit. No deaths were documented during the study period. The study was limited by its focus on rental e-scooter injuries among adults, which excluded pediatric injuries. Moreover, the catchment population was in a single municipality, potentially limiting the generalizability of the results. In addition, the prevalence of e-scooter injuries could have been underestimated due to missing triage text or inadequate chart coding. 'This is not a benign activity,' Bristow noted. Potential preventive strategies could include mandatory helmet regulations, e-scooter speed restrictions beyond the current local restriction of 20 km/h, and user education regarding the risks of e-scooter use while intoxicated, she suggested. Clinicians can help by providing patient education in the ED and in the office and by advocating for injury prevention strategies to be implemented by municipalities that license the use of rentable e-scooters, she added. 'Small, Attractive, Popular' Donald Redelmeier, MD, the Canada Research Chair in Medical Decision Sciences and a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Toronto, said that the findings are typical of his experience as a physician in the trauma center at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto. Donald Redelmeier, MD More injuries are occurring, at least in part because e-scooters are a relatively new technology, he told Medscape Medical News . 'In the same way that we're seeing fewer patients with injuries from falling off a horse, we're bound to see more injuries from patients falling off of e-scooters, especially since the wheels are small, the base of support is extremely narrow, and users are often unfamiliar with the device.' The authors did not mention the fire hazard associated with the batteries, which have led some cities to ban all forms of e-scooters, he noted. Nor did they mention the potential collateral damage to pedestrians who are sometimes knocked over in a collision with an e-scooter. Regarding preventive strategies, he said, 'Education is super important. You just can't outlaw these things. They're too small and attractive and popular. And there's inevitably a balance between safety and freedom.' Like Bristow, Redelmeier highlighted the importance of protective gear. 'The fact that less than 10% of these individuals were wearing a helmet is a solvable problem that should be enforced. So, you don't prohibit the technology, but you do make some requirement about mandatory helmets, as is the case in other parts of Canada, like Ontario.' Furthermore, protective gear involves more than helmets, he said. 'Gloves and proper footwear help a lot. The adage says that it's better to sweat than to bleed, and this study certainly shows that there are a lot of superficial injuries, very commonly to the elbows and the hands, that could have been prevented easily with gloves and maybe elbow guards that are quite inexpensive.' The study did not examine why the patients fell off their scooters in the first place, and that's common, he said. 'That also applies for people who get injured on their bicycles, on their motorcycles, and in other motor vehicles. 'One of the profound lessons about motor vehicle travel is that often you don't know why the misadventure occurred, either because of associated amnesia or because the incident occurs so quickly that you have no idea why you ended up on the ground,' he said. 'Ergo, you have no real way of learning from your past experiences to prevent it from happening in the future. And that's why proactive forms of education are so important because you just can't learn until it's too late.' This research received in-kind support from the Emergency Medicine Research Group in the Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. It also received financial support from a Scientific Director's Grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support data access, data extraction, database management, and statistical analysis. Finally, the project received financial support from the City of Edmonton and the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta. Bristow and Redelmeier reported having no relevant financial relationships.
