Number of measles cases in Alberta nearly doubles as province reports instances in Edmonton

Children under nine account for eight of the current measles cases in Alberta. CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg has the details.

Measles, a deadly disease considered eradicated, is on the rise in Alberta.

The number of measles cases reported by the provincial government have almost doubled, from six to 11, since Thursday.

An Alberta Health official told CTV News Edmonton on Monday there are 11 confirmed cases of measles in the province: eight in the North zone, two in Edmonton and one in Calgary.

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Children aged nine and under account for eight of the cases, one of them less than a year old.

Edmonton is the latest locale in which the province has announced a measles outbreak. Alberta Health Services said in a media release on Monday that people who went to three locations – the Belle Rive Medicentres Family Health Care Clinic and the Rexall drug store next door to it from 2:15-5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, and the emergency department at the Stollery Children’s Hospital between 10 p.m. Friday and 12:30 a.m. Saturday – may have been exposed to the disease.

AHS said anyone who may have been at these places during these times and was born in 1970 or later with less than two documented doses of measles-related vaccine is “strongly encouraged” to review their immunization documentation and monitor themselves for symptoms.

The measles vaccine is offered for free through the province’s immunization program.

Dr. Mark Joffe, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in a statement last week the disease should be taken seriously and encouraged people to get vaccinated if they need to.

“It is a serious, highly infectious disease that can have devastating consequences,” Joffe said.

“No one should have to endure the consequences of a disease we can prevent.”

The number of children receiving doses of measles vaccine in Alberta has been declining in recent years, according to provincial data.

According to Alberta Health data, 81.67 per cent of children aged 2 in 2023 had received their first dose of the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, down from 88.05 per cent in 2014, the highest number in the last nine years.

In 2023, 69.32 per cent of children aged 2 had received a second dose. Data for previous years were not available.

Of all Alberta children aged 7, 72.63 per cent of them had received two doses of MMR vaccine. In 2016, a nine-year-high of 82.1 per cent of seven-year-olds had received it.

Last week, officials confirmed several cases of measles in John D’or Prairie, one of three communities that make up Little Red River Cree Nation about 750 kilometres north of Edmonton. AHS issued an advisory on Friday about a case of measles in Airdrie, a Calgary bedroom community just north of Alberta’s largest city.

Starting Tuesday, the province will give updates to case counts on its website at 12:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

Measles is caused by a virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a fever of 38.3 C or higher, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

Measles is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from Canada since 1998 and from the United States since 2000.

Cases of it have been on the rise across Canada and globally.

Children under the age of one, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk from measles.

The health ministry official said the government encourages people to check their level of immunization against measles. They said two doses of vaccine provides almost 100-per-cent protection from measles, while one dose gives 85-to-95-per-cent protection.

AHS says people who develop symptoms are advised to stay home and call Health Link at 811 before visiting a health-care facility, including a family physician clinic or a pharmacy.

Dr. Richard Owen, the president of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association, said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton that the rise of measles, an “avoidable illness ... not caught by those adequately vaccinated,” is a “sad situation in a country where measles not long ago was effectively eradicated.”

“This is the consequence of a falling vaccination rate,” Owen said. “Our government needs to do more and urge the population to get vaccinated.”

Health Minister Adrianna LaGrange said Monday she “absolutely” endorses Albertans get two doses of measles vaccine, saying the province has been regularly providing public information on the disease and vaccination for it."

“We’ve seen vaccine hesitancy, not just in Alberta, but right across Canada and globally, so we’re ... giving information out as much as possible,” LaGrange told media at the Alberta legislature.

Health Canada, on Thursday in its latest weekly measles and rubella monitoring report, announced 224 measles cases this year as of March 1 reported in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba. There were 147 confirmed cases of measles reported in Canada in 2024, 12 cases in 2023, three in 2022 and none in 2021.