The Alberta government says that it is taking new measures to control the measles outbreaks of the province as the case has the highest levels since 1987.
The province reported 55 additional cases on Monday, which pushed the total since the outbreaks began in March 265.
The last time the province saw more measles cases was in 1987, when 690 were confirmed.
And measles is affecting serious in Alberta.
The province has confirmed that, until the weekend, three patients under 18 were in intensive care due to the virus.
“Measles is preventable and the time to act is now,” said Dr. Sunil Sookram, interim medical director of Alberta de Salud.
Sookram made the comments together with the Minister of Health, Adriana Lagrange, on Monday morning, at the first measles government press conference since the outbreaks began.
He said he wants to make sure that Albertaos are armed with science -based information, since he stressed the measles vaccine is safe and effective.
“We know that this is true because, according to recent studies, he has saved the lives of more than 154 million people in the last half century. The vast majority of saved lives, 101 million, were babies or children.”
The southern and central areas of Alberta continue to be the most affected.
“These are areas where vaccination coverage has fallen, sometimes due to security concern, sometimes due to cultural beliefs and sometimes due to wrong information,” Sookram said.
The vaccination rates in the pockets of these regions are well below the threshold of 95 percent that experts say it is needed for protection at the population level.
Forty -eight new cases were confirmed in the southern zone during the weekend, which brought the total to 154. The central zone reported three new cases for a total of 75 since the outbreaks began.
Three new cases were reported in the Calgary area and one in the Edmonton area.
“He is the most affected and unremmted,” said Lagrange.
No deaths have been reported due to measles in Alberta this year.
Advertising campaign to launch, immunization expanded
The Alberta government is expanding access to immunization with more added quotes in clinics in the southern and central areas.
“Immunize against measles is the most important thing you can do to protect your loved ones and your community, especially those young babies who have just come to the world and cannot be immunized, as well as pregnant women and those with certain immunocompromised conditions,” said Lagrange.
In the southern zone, immunization appointments are being opened in the afternoon and the weekend, and in the central area, the clinics offer vaccination without prior appointment and there are some nighttime and Saturday.
Alberta Health Services (AHS) is also prepared to extend the hours and open additional clinical space around the province according to the demand, according to the government.
The province has launched a direct measles line, which will accelerate the questions about the state of immunization and vaccine quotations, as well as providing advice to people with measles symptoms.
That direct line, configured by the health link, can be reached at 1-844-944-3434.
Next week, the Government will also launch an advertising campaign through radio, printing, digital and social networks, including translations to 14 languages.
Online ads will translate into French, Chinese, Punjabi, Spanish, Ukrainian, Urdu and Tagalo, according to the province. The radio campaign will include Arabic, French, Hindi, Korean, Farsi, Chinese (traditional and simplified), Somali, Spanish, Tagalo, Ukrainian, Urdu and Vietnamese.
Public health officials are also communicating with doctors, public health nurses and faith leaders in impacted communities, according to Lagrange.
“It really is how we develop trust relationships with those communities that are not very immunized or non -immunized? How do we get the information? They are reaching them in their own languages, developing those relationships of trust,” he said.
In the central zone, health officials are also working with affected schools, communicating with directors and superintendents, according to the health medical officer of the central zone, Dr. Ifeoma Achebe.
In addition, babies who live or travel to the southern, central and north areas are eligible for an early dose (and extra) of the measles vaccine, in addition to the routine immunization program, which recommends dose at 12 and 18 months of age.
The plans are also in the process for measles assessment and independent treatment centers, according to Sookram.
“AHS and the Ministry have been working together to adjust that plan. When the threshold has been fulfilled to implement the plan, as we have done for influenza, as we did for Covid, and there is a need for that service in particular, I think we will be prepared to launch that,” he said.
Time concerns
“It should really have happened about a month ago,” said Dr. Sam Wong, president of the Pediatrics Section of the Alberta Medical Association.
He has been asking for stronger messages in the province and greater vaccination access since measles cases began to be reported.
“Now you have outbreaks in these smaller areas in the central area and the southern zone. Maybe that could have been avoided. We may not need to get [265] cases before having a press conference. “
Dr. James Talbot, former Alberta Medical Director of Health, welcomed stronger messages about the dangers of measles and the importance of vaccination.
But he also believes that it should have happened before and is still concerned about potential impacts.
For every thousand cases of measles, he warned, he can expect to see between one and three deaths.
“My concern is that if we do not achieve this, let’s see the deaths,” he said
“And if we do, then everyone in the system, to and including the Minister of Health that is responsible for that system, will have to ask:” Did we do everything we could have done to avoid this completely preventable result? “
Despite the growing situation, health officials have not yet declared a measles outbreak throughout the province.
Lagrange said the cases would have to continue climbing in all areas, which she said is not happening in the Calgary or Edmonton areas.
“There is no reason to expect the other three zones, Edmonton, Calgary and the North, not exactly the same path,” said Talbot, pointing out that it is impossible to prevent people from traveling between regions and potentially spread the virus.
“Call it ‘throughout the province’. Let it clear that so far we are not seeing the same increase in the other three zones, but we will be prudent and we will begin to take precautions to ensure that these increases do not happen.”
Meanwhile, when asked how sure it is in the outbreaks in which they can be reigned, given the situation in Ontario, where the cases of cases have exceeded 1,200, Sookram said it will take some time.
“Now we are taking active steps through immunization programs to try to stop that growth. It will take a couple of weeks or months see the fruits of that effort. It is not something fast,” he said.
Measles is very contagious and can lead to serious complications that include pneumonia, brain swelling and even death.
According to the Provincial Government’s website, between one and three out of every 1,000 people with measles will die.
Measles symptoms include:
- High fever.
- Cough.
- Rhinorrhea
- Red eyes.
- Stained and red rash that appears three to seven days after the fever begins.
Measles information, including cases of cases, can be found on the Alberta Government’s measles website, which includes a link to a list of exposure location alerts
