Northern Health warns of possible measles exposure at prenatal clinic in Fort St. John

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 07, 2025 3:51 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Northern Health is informing residents of a imaginable measles vulnerability astatine a prenatal session successful the Fort St. John, B.C., area. 

In a societal media post, the wellness authorization said the imaginable vulnerability happened at Fort St. John Prenatal Clinic astatine 8407 112 Ave. connected June 27, betwixt 10:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. 

Anyone who whitethorn person been exposed is asked to show for symptoms.

Those include fever, a blotchy rash, a cough and red, watery eyes.

It comes astir 2 weeks since measles cases were confirmed successful Wonowon, northwest of Fort St. John, as good arsenic successful different wellness regions successful the province: Interior Health, with cases reported in Kamloops, Kelowna, Salmon Arm and the Nelson area; and Fraser Health, specifically successful Chilliwack.

Earlier successful June, different lawsuit of measles was reported successful a visitant to B.C. who had travelled done the Interior portion infectious.

According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, determination person been 87 cases of measles reported successful the state this twelvemonth arsenic of its latest update connected July 3, with six cases presently progressive — each successful the Northern Health region.

Health officials person stressed that anyone who isn't vaccinated is susceptible to measles, and they promote everyone to guarantee they are up to day connected their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines. 

Risks during pregnancy

Transmission of measles during gestation is rare, according to specialists, and if a baby contracts the illness from the parent successful utero, the interaction volition beryllium connected however acold on the gestation is. 

 Dr. Jacqueline Wong, a pediatric infectious illness specializer at McMaster Children's Hospital successful Hamilton, Ont., said the hazard chiefly applies successful cases wherever the parent has not been afloat vaccinated.

"If they person their vaccines, past we would expect the hazard to beryllium precise low," she said, saying some the parent and their unborn kid would payment from the protection.

WATCH | Measles risks during pregnancy: 

However, she said successful cases wherever the parent has not been afloat vaccinated, determination are concerns.

"Your hazard of transmitting the infection to the babe varies during the antithetic trimesters due to the fact that of the improvement of the fetus, the improvement of the placenta and the humor flow," she said.

She besides said that vaccination is not recommended during pregnancy, and the lawsuit serves arsenic a reminder that anyone who has not had each their shots should question to get them updated, peculiarly if they are reasoning of having a kid oregon are different astatine risk.

"Measles is circulating now, truthful we privation to beryllium up-to-date," she said.

Dr. Sheryl Choo, a maternal-fetal medicine specializer astatine Royal Alexandra Hospital successful Edmonton, says serious complications tin effect if radical who are large go infected with measles.

For instance, she says, large radical infected with measles tin make lung infections similar pneumonia astatine astir treble the complaint of those who are not pregnant. 

She says it tin besides summation the hazard of superior complications, including miscarriage and premature birth.

Babies calved to those infected with measles tin besides look complications related to premature commencement — connected apical of the imaginable measles symptoms — such arsenic debased commencement value and breathing issues, which tin effect in stays successful the neonatal intensive attraction unit.

Doctors accidental the measles vaccine isn't recommended to beryllium administered to radical who are already pregnant, and that it's champion to get it earlier pregnancy.

That's due to the fact that the measles vaccine contains a unrecorded strain that is simply a weakened signifier of the virus. In contrast, vaccines that contain inactivated viruses — similar the flu vaccine — can beryllium fixed during pregnancy.

Pregnant radical who whitethorn person been exposed to measles are advised to interaction their section wellness authority, which tin find if vulnerability occurred and nonstop patients to seek appropriate attraction without contributing to further spread.