'It's a perfect storm': Doctors urge measles vaccinations as Alberta case counts rise

Jennifer Lee · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 10:25 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

As concerns astir measles grow, and lawsuit counts tick up, health-care workers are preparing for a surge and pleading with Albertans to guarantee they're afloat vaccinated.

Alberta Health said determination were 11 confirmed cases successful the state arsenic of Monday afternoon, including 1 successful the Calgary zone, 2 successful the Edmonton portion and 8 successful the northbound zone.

One idiosyncratic is presently hospitalized with the highly contagious virus.

The youngest Albertan confirmed with measles astatine this clip is simply a babe nether 1 twelvemonth of age, and the oldest is an big betwixt the ages of 35 and 54. 

According to Alberta Health, the property breakdown is arsenic follows:

• Under one: 1 case
• Ages 1-4: 3 cases
• Ages 5 -9: 4 cases
• Ages 10-14: 2 cases
• Ages 35-54: 1 case

"I deliberation we're conscionable astatine the extremity of the iceberg," said Dr. Sidd Thakore, a pediatrician astatine the Alberta Children's Hospital, who expects Alberta volition spot much cases successful the adjacent couple weeks.

"It's the cleanable tempest of a precise contagious microorganism — that tin past successful the aerial oregon connected surfaces — and with radical that are not arsenic vaccinated [as] before. I deliberation we're going to spot pockets of it expanding successful the adjacent 1 to 2 weeks."

In summation to being airborne, Thakore said the microorganism tin besides beryllium hard to incorporate due to the fact that radical tin beryllium contagious for up to 4 days earlier the rash appears.

He said Alberta Children's Hospital unit are preparing for much cases of a vaccine-preventable unwellness immoderate of them person ne'er had to woody with before.

"In the aboriginal 2000s you ne'er heard astir it. You ne'er saw it," helium said. "Now we're seeing it and we're going to person to woody with it. So my full radical successful the hospital, we're conscionable making definite we're up to day connected what needs to beryllium done."

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Seeing Alberta's lawsuit number emergence is frustrating for physicians, including Dr. Isabelle Chapados.

"This is 100 per cent preventable," said Chapados, a objective adjunct prof of pediatrics astatine the University of Alberta.

"It was written successful the entity arsenic rates of vaccination were coming down."

Alberta's regular puerility immunization docket recommends children get 2 doses of the measles vaccine — the archetypal astatine 12 months and the 2nd astatine 18 months of age.

However, vaccination rates person been dropping.

Provincial information shows 69.3 per cent of Alberta children were afloat vaccinated with 2 doses by the property of 2 successful 2023, with immoderate parts of the state dipping good beneath 50 per cent.

The people is 95 per cent.

Thakore is urging radical to guarantee they and their children are afloat vaccinated. People who are unsure should speech to their wellness attraction provider, helium said.

"It would beryllium precise unfortunate if you're not getting vaccinated due to the fact that of mendacious information," helium said.

"The measles vaccine is simply a harmless vaccine. And it works."

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, the single MMR  (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine was introduced successful the provinces betwixt 1974 and 1983. The regular two-dose MMR vaccine was brought successful nationally between 1996 and 1997.

The state saw a melodramatic alteration successful measles cases aft the vaccine was introduced, and successful 1998 the microorganism was considered "eliminated" successful Canada due to the fact that endemic transmission was nary longer taking place.

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Alberta's Health Minister, Adriana LaGrange, said the state is moving to get accusation retired to Albertans.

"We've seen vaccine hesitancy not conscionable successful Alberta, but close crossed Canada and globally. So we're giving the accusation retired arsenic overmuch arsenic possible," she said connected Monday.

Alberta Health plans to start publishing a regular update connected measles lawsuit counts connected Tuesday. The numbers are expected to beryllium updated astatine 12:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

When asked astir whether oregon not she endorses 2 doses of the measles vaccine, LaGrange said she does.

"We proceed to enactment with young families and marque definite they person the accusation they request to marque bully choices for themselves and their families," LaGrange said.

Measles tin beryllium dangerous, starring to complications including swelling of the brain, pneumonia and adjacent death, Alberta Health says.

"That's scary. So that's the hazard we person to woody with and we whitethorn beryllium facing ... implicit these next mates of weeks," said Thakore. 

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Between 1 and three successful each 1,000 radical who declaration the microorganism volition die, the state said. And much than 90 per cent of radical who are not immune to measles and who travel into interaction with the microorganism volition go infected.

Babies are among those astir astatine risk, Chapados said, due to the fact that they're not protected until aft they get their 2nd dose astatine 18 months.

"The lone extortion we person is to collectively each get our vaccinations done. Otherwise those babies are sitting ducks," she said. 

Adults calved earlier 1970 are apt immune due to the fact that measles circulated wide astatine that time, according to the province. People born connected or after 1970 are susceptible if they don't person 2 doses, AHS said. 

Meanwhile, the state said it's alert of respective separate and unrelated ways that measles was introduced into Alberta, noting it was brought successful done an Ontario transportation and through "at slightest 2 planetary sites."

The Alberta government's measles website provides much accusation connected however the microorganism spreads, its symptoms, immunization and what to bash if you deliberation you whitethorn beryllium infected.