Fraser Health says it is now seeing cases of measles in the general communities of Chilliwack and Agassiz.
Previously, the cases were limited to certain schools and religious groups.
Fraser Health’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Paul Van Buynder says only one child — a nine-year-old girl — has been admitted to hospital so far, and there are about 100 suspected cases of measles overall.
“We are following up a few dozen cases that remain unresolved at this point in the Fraser Health authority,” says Van Buynder.
He says these are largely in the Fraser East and Chilliwack-Agassiz area.
“We are noticing now there is spread beyond the original school and religious community. What we are seeing is that the initial cases – which was about 60 to 80 — were largely within a particular school. What we saw from then are cases starting to show up in relatives of children at the school or people with a link to the school. What we are now seeing are cases that do not have a close relationship with a religious community or a school.”
Van Buynder says they have not seen much of the infection in children under the age of five, which is what they were concerned about.
Measles is a highly contagious disease. The symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, watery inflamed eyes as well as blotchy rash that begins on the face and spreads all over the body.
People with symptoms of measles are asked to stay at home.
“We are concerned that many people arrive unannounced at general practitioner offices or emergency departments. Those people are placing other people at risk,” says Van Buynder. “Please ring ahead if you need to seek medical care and you have measles, so we can isolate you when you first arrive.”
READ MORE: B.C. won’t force measles shots amid outbreak
Fraser Health says the best protection against measles is two doses of measles vaccine.
Vaccine will be distributed to general practitioners and pharmacies in the Fraser East region, including in Abbotsford, Mission, Chilliwack, Agassiz, Harrison Hot Springs and Hope.
“Starting next Monday or Tuesday, we will be running public clinics for people to attend. The focus of the public clinics will be for children under the age of five, because they can’t be vaccinated in pharmacy or those settings,” says Van Buynder.
Earlier this month, B.C.’s health minister said the government won’t be forcing people to get a measles vaccination despite the outbreak in the Fraser Valley.
The BC Centre for Disease Control says a measles outbreak occurred in British Columbia, with 82 confirmed cases after the Winter Olympic Games held in Vancouver in February 2010.
This was the largest measles outbreak in B.C. since 1997 when 247 cases were reported.
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