AHS expands measles advisory to entire south zone due to 'widespread' exposure risk

CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 8:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

Alberta Health Services (AHS) is informing anyone living, moving oregon travelling successful the southbound portion to beryllium alert of the "significant existent risk" for measles exposure.

The wellness authorization issued a lasting measles vulnerability advisory connected Friday afternoon. It applies to each communities successful the zone, which stretches from Crowsnest Pass successful the westbound to Medicine Hat successful the east, and includes Lethbridge.

AHS said the zone-wide announcement replaces site-specific advisories that the wellness authorization said "no longer accurately seizure the scope of imaginable risk." 

Anyone successful the southbound portion calved successful oregon aft 1970 and has less than 2 documented doses of measles vaccine is astatine hazard of processing the disease, the wellness authorization said.

As of Friday astatine noon, a full of 560 measles cases person been confirmed successful Alberta since March.

The southbound portion has by acold the highest lawsuit count, with 408 confirmed cases since the outbreak began, including 19 caller cases.

The cardinal wellness portion has had 93 cases, portion the Calgary portion has had 12 cases to date.

Most of Alberta's cases person been among the unimmunized, provincial information shows.

It's imaginable much cases are going undetected oregon unreported, according to the province.

Symptoms of measles see a fever of 38.3 C oregon higher, a cough, a runny roseate oregon reddish eyes, and a rash that appears 3 to 7 days aft the fever starts. 

Complications of the illness tin see receptor infections, pneumonia, encephalon inflammation and premature delivery. 

The Alberta government's measles website states that betwixt 1 and 3 successful each 1,000 radical infected with measles volition die.

AHS is urging anyone with symptoms of measles to enactment location and telephone the province's measles hotline astatine 1-844-944-3434.

Albertans who don't cognize their immunization past oregon privation to publication a wellness attraction assignment tin bash truthful by calling the hotline. 

People who deliberation they could person been exposed whitethorn beryllium capable to person a vaccine to trim the hazard of infection, AHS said successful the wellness advisory.