The Alberta government says cases of measles have been confirmed in the Edmonton area.
An advisory issued by Alberta Health Services on Sunday warned that public exposure to the highly contagious disease may have occurred at two Edmonton locations last week.
The health delivery agency then issued a correction late Monday that there was a third exposure location that was missing from the first announcement.
The original advisory said those who attended the Belle Rive Medicentres Family Health Care Clinic in the north end Wednesday afternoon could have been exposed, and that anyone who attended the emergency department at the Stollery Children’s Hospital late Friday evening may have been exposed as well.
The third location, added Monday night, was a Rexall pharmacy located at 16703 82 St. It said people in the pharmacy Wednesday between 2:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. may have been exposed.
Edmonton is the latest Alberta city to be issued with an advisory after a string of confirmed cases were reported elsewhere in the province.
A single case was confirmed in the Calgary area Saturday, and an AHS advisory for the city and surrounding area says exposure may have occurred at four locations between March 8 and March 12.
On Friday, AHS also confirmed several measles cases in the Fort Vermilion area, 660 kilometres north of Edmonton.
Little Red River Cree Nation Chief Conroy Sewepagaham said on social media Sunday that the community, just east of Fort Vermillion, has eight confirmed cases covering three households. He said another suspected case is pending lab testing results.
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An unnamed Alberta Health official said in an email Monday that eight of the 11 confirmed cases so far are in children under the age of 10.
One of those cases is an infant less than a year old.
The official said they caught the disease during travel to Ontario and at least two international destinations and brought it back to Alberta.
AHS says people who were potentially exposed and who were born after 1970 and have fewer than two doses of the measles vaccine should monitor themselves for symptoms.
Symptoms include a fever higher than 38.3 C and a red spot-like rash that begins on the face and appears a few days following the onset of a fever.
Coughing, a runny nose and eye redness are also symptoms of measles.
If symptoms do appear, AHS says people should stay home and call Health Link at 811 before visiting a health-care facility or doctor.
In a statement issued last week, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said measles shouldn’t be taken lightly and encouraged Albertans to get vaccinated against it if they aren’t already.
“No one should have to endure the consequences of a disease we can prevent,” said Dr. Mark Joffe.
“Measles is not just a mild childhood illness – it is a serious, highly infectious disease that can have devastating consequences.”
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, during question period in the legislature Monday, said the influx of cases was largely due to “vaccine hesitancy” and said the United Conservative government recommended that Albertans get the measles vaccine.
“We’re going to continue to recommend it,” LaGrange said. “It is well proven after many decades.”
Opposition NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman told reporters that Premier Danielle Smith’s government only had itself to blame for vaccine hesitancy.
Hoffman pointed to Smith and LaGrange refusing to say in the past whether they’d receive new seasonal COVID-19 vaccines and the government’s recent move to put the right to refuse a vaccine in Alberta’s bill of rights.
“The right thing to do is to help demystify the process and keep Albertans safe and healthy,” Hoffman said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says measles can be deadly, and severe cases can also cause brain inflammation and deafness.
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