Alberta's measles case counts have topped 500 and doctors are worried

CBC News

· Posted: May 22, 2025 10:46 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

It has taken Alberta little than 3 months to apical 500 measles cases, fuelling concerns astir the velocity astatine which the microorganism is spreading and fears it could pb to the decease of a child.

By midday Wednesday, the province's full lawsuit number had surged to 505, much than doubling since the opening of May.

Alberta's outbreaks began successful March.

Dr. Sidd Thakore, a pediatrician astatine Alberta Children's Hospital, said immoderate of the sickest kids from the southbound and cardinal zones are ending up at his infirmary successful Calgary for treatment.

"100 per cent. We are seeing it now," helium said.

"There's immoderate terrible outcomes whether it's terrible pneumonia oregon much terrible issues with … inflammation of the brain. I've seen it myself, respective times present successful hospital."

According to Thakore, immoderate of these children are ending up successful intensive care.

The southbound portion is by acold the hardest deed with 362 measles cases to date. The cardinal portion has had 92 cases.

Alberta Health confirmed connected Tuesday 1 Albertan nether the property of 18 was successful ICU astatine that time.

According to Thakore, it's hard for parents and wellness attraction providers to ticker children endure from a vaccine-preventable illness.

"You spot the affectional toll it takes connected the household and the intelligence toll it takes connected the family." 

Like astir wellness attraction providers, helium had ne'er treated measles prior to this year's outbreaks. It was declared eliminated successful Canada successful 1998.

Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious illness specializer astatine the University of Alberta Hospital, is not amazed Alberta's outbreaks person snowballed given that the microorganism is truthful highly contagious and immunization rates are acold beneath the level needed for assemblage extortion successful immoderate parts of the province.

And she's disquieted astir the imaginable for children to dice arsenic the outbreaks grow.

"Statistically, the much cases we person the much likelihood that we volition extremity up seeing a kid that dies of measles," she said.

• Why are measles lawsuit counts climbing truthful precocious successful Alberta? Experts measurement in

• Alberta authorities beefs up measles defence arsenic cases rival 1980s levels

A toddler died of measles successful Ontario past year. And Texas, which has the worst outbreak successful the United States, has reported 2 children person died owed to measles this year. Both of them were unvaccinated, according to the state's wellness department.

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

Publicly disposable information shows, arsenic of May 10, a full 35 Albertans had been hospitalized since the outbreaks started.

"It's heartbreaking and unspeakable to spot children with terrible encephalon inflammation, terrible liver inflammation ... oregon terrible pneumonia … erstwhile galore of those could person been prevented," Smith said.

"The connection is truly rather simple: please, please, delight get your children vaccinated if you haven't already."

Two doses of the vaccine connection 97- to 98-per cent protection, she said.

The immense bulk of Alberta's cases person been among the unimmunized, provincial information shows.

Alberta's regular puerility immunization docket recommends children person their archetypal dose of the measles vaccine astatine 12 months of property and the 2nd astatine 18 months.

However, babies arsenic young arsenic six months old, who are surviving successful the south, cardinal and northbound zones, are being offered an aboriginal and other dose owed to the level of risk.

• Health teams scramble to incorporate dispersed of measles successful cardinal and confederate Alberta

Meanwhile, Smith believes determination are apt much cases successful the assemblage that haven't been tested oregon confirmed.

"It  does not look that we've deed our highest yet. And truthful I deliberation we'll proceed to spot this summation successful numbers of cases successful these  communities wherever there's precise debased vaccination rates," she said.

Measles symptoms include:

• High fever.
• Cough.
• Runny nose.
• Red eyes.
• Blotchy, reddish rash that appears 3 to 7 days aft the fever starts. In darker tegument colours, it whitethorn look purple oregon darker than surrounding skin. 

Alberta Health provides elaborate accusation connected measles lawsuit counts, symptoms and escaped immunizations here. 

A database of imaginable vulnerability alerts tin beryllium recovered present and a measles hotline is disposable for radical with questions astir symptoms, immunization records oregon to publication an appointment: 1-844-944-3434