Physicians brace for summer travel season as Alberta tops 800 measles cases

Jennifer Lee · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 09, 2025 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

As summertime approaches, Alberta's measles lawsuit counts are expected to support climbing and immoderate experts interest transmission volition go adjacent much widespread.

With 31 caller cases reported implicit the weekend, Alberta's full lawsuit number jumped to 809 by midday Monday.

Five radical are presently hospitalized owed to the virus, including 2 patients who are successful intensive care.

The outbreaks began successful March and portion cases person been confirmed successful each zones, the south, cardinal and northbound zones are the hardest hit.

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"This is not showing signs of slowing astatine this point," said Caroline Colijn, a prof and Canada Research Chair of Mathematics for Evolution, Infection and Public Health at Simon Fraser University.

She predicts  Alberta's measles lawsuit counts volition support climbing for months.

"I would expect it volition proceed to transmit and find pathways done our colonisation to scope radical who are not protected."

Dr. Sam Wong, president of the Alberta Medical Association's conception of pediatrics, is disquieted astir what's to come.

"In a fewer weeks' time, if the numbers support going ... I deliberation that we're going to deed implicit 1,000 [cases]. We're going to deed much measles cases successful Alberta than they person successful the States," said Wong.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,168 cases had been confirmed successful the full country, arsenic of June 6.

"That is mind-boggling to me," Wong said. "And it speaks to the nonaccomplishment of the [Alberta]  authorities to bash their occupation erstwhile they could person done it earlier on."

Summer travel

At the University of Calgary, Craig Jenne will beryllium watching the trends successful the coming weeks.

He's concerned summer activities, specified arsenic travel, could spark adjacent much wide transmission.

"As we get into the adjacent respective weeks radical volition beryllium starting summertime vacations. We volition spot festivals ... Calgary Stampede is successful a fewer weeks. We whitethorn past spot assemblage level transmission grow beyond the southbound zone," said Jenne, a prof successful the section of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases.

Experts accidental a azygous lawsuit of measles transported into an country with debased vaccination rates is akin to a spark landing successful a tinder adust forest.

"I deliberation question betwixt and among communities with debased immunization ... will let the microorganism a way to get into a new, close-knit assemblage wherever vaccination rates are low," said Colijn.

The southbound portion accounts for 71.6 per cent of Alberta's full cases.

A lasting vulnerability advisory remains successful effect for that portion of the state owed to wide transmission.

Health officials person warned authoritative lawsuit counts are the "tip of the iceberg" in southern Alberta owed to unreported and undetected cases.

Dr. Paul Parks is seeing that firsthand successful the Medicine Hat exigency country wherever helium works.

He, too, is bracing for further outbreaks successful the province.

"It's specified a contagious illness," said Parks, who is besides the past-president of the Alberta Medical Association.

"As people are retired astatine wide gathering events and arsenic Stampede comes and arsenic each these antithetic events happen, we're going to person much and much spread."

The measles microorganism tin bent successful the aerial for respective hours aft an infected idiosyncratic leaves a location.

More than 90 per cent of radical who are not immune and are exposed to the microorganism volition extremity up infected, according to the Alberta government.

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"The different happening to deliberation astir is ... Alberta could beryllium a root of measles introductions to different places," said Colijn.

"We whitethorn spot a broader geographic dispersed due to the fact that of summertime question from Alberta much than to Alberta. That's precise hard to predict."

The immense bulk of Alberta's cases are among unimmunized individuals, provincial information shows.

Measles can pb to superior complications including pneumonia, encephalon inflammation, premature transportation and adjacent death.

Children nether the property of five, radical with weakened immune systems and large individuals are astatine the highest risk of terrible complications.

The state says 64 Albertans person been hospitalized owed to measles this year, arsenic of May 31.

Ten of those radical person ended up successful intensive care.