Alberta has now confirmed more measles cases than all the United States has reported this year.
The province has been fighting the outbreaks since March until noon on Monday, the Total Case counts in the province had shot at 1,314.
The last update of the US centers for disease control and prevention It shows that the country has accumulated 1,288 cases this year.
“Looking at the numbers, it saddens me,” said Dr. Sam Wong, president of the Pediatrics Section of the Alberta Medical Association.
“I think that if we had arrived before, and we took it more seriously before, then perhaps we would not have reached this milestone where a province really exceeds the entire case count for the United States, which has 10 times the population as Canada.”
Thirty new cases were reported between noon on Friday and noon on Monday.
“It’s absolutely terrible,” said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of Alberta.
“It is really a massive propagation scale that is happening at this time.”
Health experts and officials believe that Alberta Case counts are higher than confirmed numbers reflect. A permanent exposure notice remains in force for the entire southern zone and north parts due to generalized transmission.
And the Alberta government measles website He says that cases are probably not information and not detected.
Saxinger cares about the impact of large summer meetings such as Calgary Stampede, which has just ended on Sunday.
“I do not think we have seen a suggestion of things that are level and now there are great meetings of people and after that school he will return. So I think there is still a period of serious vulnerability to increase the numbers for a while,” Saxinger said.
“As a specialist in infectious diseases, I would never have guessed that this was going to happen because measles is supposed to be eradicated.”
The health areas of the South, North and Central have been the most affected by outbreaks.
According Provincial dataThere were 102 hospitalizations, including 15 income from the UCI, as of July 5. No deaths have been reported.
He Latest national statistics It shows that 58 percent of the new cases reported during the week from June 22 to June 28 were in Alberta.
“We know that Per capita has more cases of measles in Alberta than anywhere else in North America,” said Craig Jenne, professor of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary.
“We have heard stories that there may be a sub -registration in the United States, but even the fact that we are close to those numbers is quite worrying since we have almost a hundredths population.”
Transmission rate
The last breakdown of the case shows that there have been a total of 774 cases in the southern zone, 35 in the Calgary area, 107 in the central zone, 13 in the Edmonton area and 385 in the north.
“Perhaps the most worrying aspect, at least for me, is not the total number of cases, is how fast we have arrived here,” said Jenne, who is also the deputy director of the Snyder Institute of Chronic Diseases.
Alberta’s measles outbreaks have become faster than those of Ontario, which began in October, according to Jenne.
That province, which has the population of Alberta three times, had confirmed 1,934 to July 8, with another 310 probable cases.
“It is growing much faster here …[The] The transmission rate is very worrying. “
Mass immunization clinics
Measles is very contagious and can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia, cerebral inflammation, premature delivery and even death.
Young children, pregnant people and those with weakened immune systems have a higher risk.
“I am very afraid to see terrible results in babies and children under five because that is the most vulnerable group in all areas,” said Saxinger.
He is asking the provincial government to take key measures to control outbreaks, including the creation of mass vaccination clinics and campaigns.
“I think there may be many involuntary barriers to people who even want to update their vaccines … It may be very difficult to really reserve it,” he said.
Saxinger also wants the province to point to school -age children for vaccination before returning to school in autumn.
And, like other doctors, Saxinger is asking the province to offer an early and extra dose to babies up to six months in all regions. The additional shot is only offered in the southern, central and north areas.
CBC News asked the government an answer, but did not receive an immediate response.
Pregnant Albertaos, who also have a high risk, need to know that they should seek help if they have been potentially exposed, according to Saxinger, and vaccine messages in general should be improved.
“I think it really has to be a great priority for elected officials to remember people, because not everyone looks at the news [and] Not everyone gets the same information. “
