Northern Health’s northeastern region is home to one of two active measles cases in the province.
A recent update said there is one active and 11 new inactive cases of measles in the northeast this week – this active case is the only one in Northern Health. The other active case was reported in Fraser Health.
No active cases were noted in either of last week’s bi-weekly updates from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. Inactive cases, however, remain on the rise with a new total of 314 cases in the province, 240 of which were in the north. The northeast saw a particularly severe spike of measles this year, with 227 instances being reported to the centre.
Residents are advised by Northern Health to have both doses of the measles immunization administered. Receiving the vaccine helps to stop the spread of the highly contagious illness in the Peace region, the authority explained.
Half of the cases in the province were children aged five-years-old to 17-years-old, the centre said. 21 per cent of cases were reported in children younger than five.
A 2023 report from the B.C. CDC said 54 per cent of children aged two-years-old are considered fully vaccinated and “up-to-date for (their) age” in the northeast. Among seven-year-olds, the number rose by nine per cent.
