Measles case reported in B.C.’s Lower Mainland, linked to international travel

British Columbia health officials have confirmed a case of measles in the Lower Mainland, and say hundreds of others may have been exposed.

The case was diagnosed in someone who lives in the Fraser Health region, and who had recently travelled to Southeast Asia, according to the Fraser Health Authority.

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“Measles is very contagious,” explained Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre.

He said the incubation period for measles is between seven and 21 days, meaning anyone who was potentially exposed should continue to monitor themselves for symptoms.

“Between now and early March, if you get a fever, muscle aches, feel unwell, and then if you get white spots inside your mouth and a diffuse … fairly dark red rash, any combination of those things … please declare that you were potentially exposed to measles so that appropriate tests can be done,” he said.

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Anyone who was aboard Air Canada Flight 66 from Bangkok to Vancouver on Tuesday, Feb. 11, may have been exposed, Fraser Health said.

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It added people who spent time in the international arrivals area of the airport, including customs or baggage claim, between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. that day may also have been exposed to the virus.

Conway said low vaccination rates in Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia have made them a hotspot for acquiring the virus.

According to the World Health Organization and the  U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles cases jumped 20 per cent globally in 2023 due to poor vaccine coverage.

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Doctors in Ontario and Quebec are currently battling an unrelated measles outbreak involving dozens of case, including children, the majority of whom were unvaccinated. Officials say the exposures in that outbreak were domestic, not international.

Health officials in rural West Texas, an area with poor vaccination uptake, are also currently battling an outbreak of nearly 50 cases, including at least 13 children who were hospitalized.

Measles is airborne, and in rare cases can lead to respiratory failure, swelling of the brain and even death.

Health officials say people can pass it to others before they even show any symptoms and the virus can stay suspended in the air for several hours.

In British Columbia, people are typically vaccinated in two doses, the first one on a child’s first birthday and the second around the time of starting school.

Officials with both Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health have been following up directly with anyone known to have been exposed to the Lower Mainland case.