Measles, a once eliminated disease, is continuing its seemingly unstoppable spread across B.C., and a recent editorial suggested online medical mis-informants are its pit crew.
The province reported 102 total cases of measles as of July 10, and the vast majority have been in Northern Health. Within the past week, the regional health authority announced three exposures in Fort St John – one in a prenatal clinic and two in the local hospital’s emergency department.
The update from the province urged British Columbians to get immunized against the disease.
“Check your eligibility and get vaccinated. Your vaccine is going to provide the best protection you can get,” said Jong Kim, the Chief Medical Health Officer at Northern Health.
Jasmine Pawa, a public health official, recently wrote an editorial with Shannon Charlebois, the medical editor at the Canadian Medical Association Journal, suggested the crisis of communicable diseases – illnesses passed through contamination between people – partially results from misinformation.
“I think that with access to the internet, with social media, (misinformation is) being shared in a way that’s a bit different,” said Pawa, who is also a faculty member at the University of Toronto and the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.
The Canadian Medical Association reported 31 per cent of Canadians took advice they saw online, instead of following advice they received from a medical professional.
Pawa said skepticism towards vaccines is common and noted some people cannot be immunized for cultural or health-related reasons.
“What are the reasons or the factors that enable and empower you to make a decision about the vaccine? Actively seek (the answers) out – if you need a bit more information about the vaccine, there is good information,” said Kim.
Kim suggested people with hesitancies should reach out to their doctor or local public health agency to help weigh the risk-versus-reward on an individual basis. One such risk, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, is joining the 10 per cent of people who require hospitalization because of the virus – 10 measles patients are currently in B.C. hospitals, as per the province.
Pawa said residents must work alongside public health officials to stop the spread of misinformation and communicable diseases, especially online.
“One of the things for all of us, as members of the general public, is taking some responsibility for the things we share and getting better at checking where it came from,” Pawa explained.
Kim and Pawa agreed on how to pump the brakes on the spread of measles – people must seek answers from public health and medical professionals, not “Dr. Google.”
