Ontario reports 155 new measles cases during the last week, which carries the count of cases of the province to 816 since an outbreak began in autumn.
The number of new cases has increased again after a few weeks to appear to stabilize in the range of 100 per week, that public health doctors had taken as a sign of potential optimism.
Ontario public health says that there have now been 61 hospitalizations, that’s 11 more than last week, including 47 children. Non -immunized children are the predominant group infected with the outbreak.
Most cases are still in the Public Health Unit of Southwest Ontario, but extended to two more public health units this week, including Hamilton and Northeastern, which covers Timmins and Englehart.
Dr. Susy Hota, director of Division of Infectious Diseases at the University Health Network, told CBC News that she never thought she would see these many cases of measles in Ontario.
“I have not seen like that in my career, so it is very disturbing to see that,” he said.
Hota says that lower vaccination rates could be the fault of the outbreak.
“It was always a substantive concern that preventable diseases of the vaccine such as measles could return and resurface if vaccination levels were low enough,” he said. “It is unfortunate that we have not had the opportunity to try to help catch up and transmit that message to people before it really hits our population more locally.”
More than 90 percent of people who do not have protection through vaccination or prior infection will probably be infected if they are exposed to the virus, he said, and that is why people should find out if they are immune or not.
“If you know that you have not been completely vaccinated, this is a time to do it. You really want to try to get ahead of this before ending in a situation in which you can be exposed,” he said.
The doctor says that the registration of electronic vaccines would be “absolutely critical”
Dr. Ninh Tran, a medical health officer in Southwestern Public Health, says there has been a 130 percent increase in measles vaccines in local public health clinics from January to April compared to last year.
That translates into 940 additional doses in the arms.
Tran also talked about schools that began to issue suspensions this week to some of the thousands of students who are not completely vaccinated, and the urgent requires that the province digest its immunization record system.
The Law of Immunization of School Students of Ontario demands that students must be vaccinated against nine preventable vaccines or have a valid exemption in the file. Clara Pasieka of CBC spoke with Toronto students as secondary schools begin to distribute suspension notices.
Doctors have been asking the province to create a central registration of digital vaccines for more than a decade with the spread of brilliant measles in outdated yellow immunization cards.
Tran says that an electronic vaccine record would be “absolutely critical” to better understand vaccine coverage.
“It seems that people cannot find them,” he says about paper vaccine records. “They have to contact their medical care provider and then inform us.”
Alberta’s case count almost doubled during the last week to 46, as well as six Saskatchewan infections. Quebec has remained at 40 for the fourth week.
Manitoba has reported 10 cases since February, including an exhibition on a flight from Toronto to Winnipeg, according to the last update on Monday.
Measles generally begins with fever, cough, nasal secretion and red aquatic eyes, followed by a red stained eruption that begins in the face and extends to the body and limbs.
The virus can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and death.
