The medical director of Health of Ontario says that six babies have been born with congenital measles since the past fall began, and added that they were infected in the uterus through the mothers who were not vaccinated.
Dr. Kieran Moore says that these babies recovered, but their infections could have been avoided if their mothers had been vaccinated and protected from contracting measles.
Congenital measles can cause serious complications, including inflammation of the brain and death.
On Thursday, Moore announced a baby born prematurely and infected with measles died in southwest Ontario.
He says the baby also faced other serious medical complications not related to the virus.
In an interview with the Canadian press, Moore says that 40 pregnant people have been infected with measles in Ontario, and only two were vaccinated.
Moore suggests that non -vaccinated pregnant people are isolate if they live in a community with active measles cases. Health officials have reported more than 2,000 cases in the province since the outbreak began in October.
The papers and rubella (MMR) vaccine is not recommended once a person is pregnant because it contains a living virus that could theoretically transmit to the fetus.
An ontary baby born prematurely and infected with measles has died in the first death of a growing provincial outbreak. Health officials say that the baby contracted measles before birth and that the mother was not vaccinated.
The National Immunization Advisory Committee recommends that not vaccinated pregnant people obtain a dose of intravenous immunoglobulin within six days if they are exposed to measles.
However, Moore said the message faces similar obstacles to those found in vaccine vaccine.
“Some people, if they don’t want a vaccine, may either want immunoglobulin either. That can be a philosophical choice,” Moore said Friday.
Most pregnant people in Ontario totally vaccinated: Moore
In an editorial published Monday in the magazine of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Catherine Varner argues that pregnant people are “with the load” of the Canada measles outbreak.
“Pregnant people often have a higher risk than the general population in the outbreaks of infectious diseases. As such, they cannot be a late occurrence in preventive strategies and responses of health systems,” says Varner.
Moore said the vast majority of pregnant people in Ontario are completely vaccinated against measles.
“It’s just a very small subgroup of people who have chosen not to vaccinate who have complications,” he said.
“I know that some will concentrate that the glass is half empty. You know, to have that level of protection against risks worldwide, I think it is a great achievement.
“I would love to have 100 percent, but we have to work with these communities that have chosen not to be vaccinated, and that is a long and difficult conversation that I think that all our health workers are dedicated to having.”
