The medical director of Health of the province is urging the inhabitants of Ontario to make sure they are immunized against measles, amid the most severe outbreak in the province in more than a decade.
In a statement on Friday, Dr. Kieran Moore said there have been 350 cases of the virus in Ontario since the end of October, with 173 of those infections reported in recent weeks, and 31 related hospitalizations.
“More than 96 percent of cases in Ontario are among people who are not immunized or have an unknown state of immunization, and were exposed in their community or while traveling,” said Moore. He added that most infections are concentrated in the southwest part of the province between unbounded persons.
“These are the most measles cases that Ontario has seen in more than a decade. It is essential that we work together to mitigate a greater propagation of this preventable vaccine disease,” he said.
The statement indicated that the measles, paper and rubella (MMR) vaccine has been used for more than 50 years and it has been shown to be one of the safer and most effective vaccines available. “Children completely immunized with two doses of the vaccine are almost 100 percent protected, while a single dose provides approximately 95 percent protection, Moore said.
The MMR vaccine is generally administered between 12 and 15 months of age, although it can be administered as soon as six months in cases where there is a higher risk of exposure. The reinforcement, which also has protection against chickenpox, is administered from four to six years.
In the last school year, only 70 percent of seven -year -old children were completely vaccinated against measles, according to Ontario’s public health data. The agency says that this represents a “great decrease” of the rates before the COVID-19 pandemic, as seen with many of the immunization programs with public funds of Ontario routine routine.
The National Immunization Advisory Committee says that 95 percent is needed to ensure that Canada is kept free of endemic measles.
Almost all new cases in Ontario are connected to an interprovincial outbreak reported for the first time in New Brunswick, which has also extended to Manitoba.
Most of the sick people are in the Public Health Region of the Southwest, where almost half of the cases are reported, and neighboring Grand Erie, which has about 27 percent. But the highly contagious virus has also traveled hundreds of kilometers from that area, which cover west towards Windsor and this to Niagara.
“Measles is easily propagated among those who are not vaccinated and can lead to serious health problems that include pneumonia, respiratory failure, brain swelling and, in rare cases, death,” said Moore on Friday.
