Two new active carriers, and four inactive confirmed measles cases, were said to be in the northeast by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
These new northeastern cases of the virus were the only new ones reported by the centre this week, as Monday’s update for Oct. 23, showed no changes.
“(The northeast) will likely continue to see the most transmission. Fort St John will continue to see (around) five cases per day in the foreseeable future,” the agenda for Northern Health’s board meeting read.
In a measles update for the board, the health authority said their models to see future trends “have high uncertainty.” Currently, Northern Health’s simulations for other northern communities show minimal transmission of this highly contagious disease.
Since the beginning of this year, the region was responsible for 71 per cent of the confirmed cases in the province. To combat this high case rate, the B.C. government is initiating their vaccination campaign. In addition, Northern Health is running advertisements encouraging residents to receive both doses of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, if they were born after 1970 and are unimmunized.
“Immunization is the best way to prevent measles and is very effective in preventing disease,” the centre explained. This routine vaccination is almost 100 per cent effective in preventing measles if both doses are administered.
