Measles outbreak still on the move

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cal Braid
Vauxhall Advance
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

 As of June 11, the standing measles exposure advisory for the Alberta Health Services south zone remains in place until further notice. AHS is still warning all individuals who live, work, or attend school in the zone to be aware of the significant risk of infection.

 So far 601 cases of measles have been documented in the south zone, with 10 new cases in the most recent update. Provincewide, ages five to 17 have been the hardest hit group with 388 cases. In children under five, 242 cases have been tracked. Among adults, 205 cases have hit the 18 – 54 age bracket but only four cases have been found in those over 55. Seven people in the province were currently hospitalized in AHS facilities on June 11. The AHS data does not include cases reported from Indigenous Services Canada.

 Site-specific exposure advisories are no longer being issued. In May, AHS south zone issued two such public advisories for Taber. Anyone who visited the Health Centre ER on May 15-16 between 7:25 p.m. and 3:55 a.m. was asked to monitor for symptoms until June 6. Additionally, anyone who was in Walmart on May 15 between 3 and 6 p.m. was advised to self-monitor until June 5.

 According to a CBC article, at the Taber Health Centre during the first week of June, Dr. Eric Leishman reported that nearly every patient that he swabbed in the ER for suspected measles tested positive. He said measles patients in the ER have reported multiple family members who have also been infected recently, so the cases reported by AHS are “only a fraction of actual cases that are out there.”

 Gwen Wirth, director of communications for AHS south zone, said the measles vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection and complications. Provincewide, the vaccine is free of charge through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program.

 “The recommended schedule for measles immunization is two doses, the first at one year of age and the second at 18 months,” Wirth said in an email.

 She pointed out that infants who are six months up to and including 11 months of age are recommended to receive an early dose of vaccine. In addition to that, they should still receive their routine two doses after they reach one year of age.

 Anyone born before 1970 who has not been immunized should talk to their healthcare provider about receiving a single dose of the vaccine.

 Measles is highly contagious and spreads easily through the air when a carrier coughs, sneezes, yells, sings, or breathes. It can spread without direct contact. An individual can contract measles simply by passing through a room where a person who is infected was up to two hours beforehand.

 Symptoms can include: a fever of 38.3°C or higher; and a cough, runny nose, or red eyes; and a rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, usually beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down to the body and then to the arms and legs. The rash appears red and blotchy on lighter skin colours. On darker skin colours, it can appear purple or darker than the skin around it, or it might be hard to see, according to AHS.

 Call the Measles Hotline 1-844-944-3434 for inquiries regarding your immunization records, symptoms, or to book an immunization appointment.