{"id":203068,"date":"2019-02-20T02:39:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T07:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=203068"},"modified":"2019-02-20T02:42:59","modified_gmt":"2019-02-20T07:42:59","slug":"make-sure-measles-shots-up-to-date-public-health-agency-says-in-wake-of-b-c-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/02\/20\/make-sure-measles-shots-up-to-date-public-health-agency-says-in-wake-of-b-c-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Make sure measles shots up to date, Public Health Agency says in wake of B.C. outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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But Tam said getting two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is virtually 100 per cent effective in preventing the disease within a given population. (Pixabay Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO \u2013 Canada’s top doctor is urging Canadians who haven’t been vaccinated against measles to get their shots in the wake of a B.C. outbreak of the disease and the always present danger of cases being imported into the country by travellers.<\/p>\n

Dr. Teresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said measles is a \u201cserious and highly contagious disease\u201d and that getting inoculated is the best way to avoid getting sick \u2013 and transmitting it to others who may be unprotected.<\/p>\n

Tam’s comments Tuesday come in the wake of a cluster of nine cases of measles in Vancouver that began in recent weeks after an unvaccinated Canadian child contracted the disease on a family trip to Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s always a risk of measles importation into Canada,\u201d Tam said from Ottawa. \u201cWe eliminated measles in Canada (in 1998), but what we’re seeing is importation from when people go travelling to another country and then bring it back.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when they bring it back to pockets of underimmunized groups, then we’re going to see the potential for more people to be infected in Canada itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Infection with the measles virus starts with a high fever, coughing, sneezing and red eyes, followed by the development of a blotchy, painful rash, said Dr. Sarah Wilson of Public Health Ontario. \u201cThe rash starts on the face and moves down onto the trunk, to the chest and the back, and then it spreads to cover the whole body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Measles can lead to such complications as ear infections, blindness, pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). It can also be fatal.<\/p>\n

The disease is highly contagious, spreading through virus-laden droplets after an infected person coughs or sneezes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the features of measles that makes it so exquisitely infectious is that it’s air-borne,\u201d said Wilson, noting that viral particles can remain in the environment for up to two hours after being introduced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose measles virus particles can stay suspended in the air and anyone who’s unvaccinated who then goes into that doctor’s office or restaurant or airport lounge, they can acquire measles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another complicating feature of measles is that it can be contagious for four days before the rash arises, said Tam.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrior to that, when you’re developing the fever, the cough, the runny nose, you’re infectious and people don’t even know it’s measles,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that I think is another reason why it can spread before you know it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Tam said getting two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is virtually 100 per cent effective in preventing the disease within a given population.<\/p>\n

Some people cannot be vaccinated, including infants under six months of age, people with certain underlying health conditions and those undergoing chemotherapy \u2013 meaning they must rely on high levels of immunity within their communities to prevent infection with the virus.<\/p>\n

To achieve that protection \u2013 called herd immunity \u2013 a community needs a vaccine coverage of about 95 per cent of residents, Tam said. At the national level, Canada has close to 90 per cent coverage, but average uptake of the MMR vaccine varies from province to province and region to region.<\/p>\n

Canadians born before 1970 are assumed to have natural immunity to measles, a disease long considered a childhood rite of passage, despite its dangers.<\/p>\n

For those born after 1970, who aren’t sure if they’ve been vaccinated, there is no increased risk of adverse effects from getting the MMR vaccine, said Wilson. The two-dose inoculation provides lifelong immunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vaccine against the measles virus is one of the most effective vaccines that we have,\u201d noted Tam.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think what we want to stress is that right now is really a good time to make sure you are up to date with two doses of measles vaccine if you were born after 1970, because we are seeing these importations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if we don’t get vaccine coverage up to higher levels in Canada, throughout Canada, for community protection, we’re going to continue to see these pockets (of cases).\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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