There are two new, active cases of measles in Northern Health after some weeks of only inactive instances being recorded.
B.C.’s centre for disease control released their first update on the measles situation in the province, and the north is home to the only active cases in the province. The centre’s report from earlier this week, on Monday, Sept 29, showed no changes in the total case count.
Now, Northern Health’s total case count for the year has reached 21- six cases higher than the previous report. Provincially, there have been 291 cases.
Instances of the highly contagious disease are considered active for four days if its namesake rash presents itself. Otherwise, a person is considered to actively be carrying the virus for ten days after symptoms appear. If a person is asymptomatic, they are considered a carrier for ten days from when they receive a positive result.
Eighty-eight per cent of confirmed cases were in people who were unimmunized. Northern Health is urging eligible residents in the health authority to receive both doses of a version of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
It is especially critical for children and people planning on starting a family to be vaccinated. Meanwhile, 69 per cent of the cases reported in B.C. were in youth under 18.
Unvaccinated pregnant people are additionally susceptible to more severe complications, such as pneumonia, from the illness.
