Rotary Manor and the Dawson Creek and District Hospital have been identified as measles exposuresites, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
An initial exposure occured at the hospital’s emergency department from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
On Oct. 5, the city’s long-term care home, the Rotary Manor, saw an active carrier of the highly contagious virus from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The next day, Oct. 6, visitors at the local emergency room were once again exposed from 2 in the afternoon until 11:30 that night.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said exposure locations “include settings where public health is unable to identify and contact everyone who may have been exposed.” It also cautioned that its list is not exhaustive.
“There may be additional community settings where exposures have occurred,” it continued. “Immunization is the best way to prevent measles.”
People who have received both doses of a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, or its variant, are considered immune and have an extremely low risk of getting the virus, the centre explained.
The provincial agency identified babies under one-year-old, unimmunized pregnant people, and immunocompromised people are identified as “at potentially higher-risk of measles-related complications”. Those who were present at any of the exposure sites are advised to monitor for symptoms.
Early signs of the virus can include a fever, a runny nose, and a rash which begins on the face and neck before spreads downwards.
Anyone who has been exposed and is considered to be at a higher risk should consider receiving post-exposure immunization. Although it may not prevent the person from getting measles, it can help reduce the risk of complications such as pneumonia, according to the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
Northern Health asked people who believe they have measles to contact the clinic where they would like to be tested in advance, so staff can prepare and limit its spread.
