10 measles cases identified in Quebec, 7 in Montreal, public health officials say
CBC
Quebec's public health director is asking Quebecers to make sure they and their children are properly vaccinated against the measles, as cases of the virus are on the rise in the province, especially in Montreal.
Dr. Luc Boileau said health officials have so far counted 10 measles cases in Quebec. At least three are related to international travel, but he said a small number of cases are suspected to have been caused by community transmission.
"That's what worries us," Boileau said in a news conference Monday with Montreal's public health director, Dr. Mylène Drouin, and a microbiologist and pediatric infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh.
"Measles is more contagious than COVID. The majority of people who are in contact with measles and are not vaccinated will contract the virus," he said.
Seven of the province's 10 cases are in Montreal, which has a lower vaccination rate than some other regions, though the rates across the province vary greatly, Boileau said.
Boileau said "vaccination fatigue" and a rise in cases in Europe and other countries is leading to the transmission of measles cases in Canada.
"We want to insist on vaccination. It's free, safe, efficient and acts quickly," he said. "We're not in the same situation as we were with COVID, where we had to take significant public health measures, but there is a real concern."
The last known case in Quebec, according to Drouin, was in 2019.
"Seven or 10 may not seem like a lot, but it's an illness we're working on eliminating," Drouin said.
The measles vaccine is covered by Quebec's immunization program. The Health Ministry's goal is to see every region reach a 95 per cent vaccination rate.
Drouin said vaccination rates at Montreal schools hover around 80 per cent. Montreal public health is targeting schools with low rates to urge parents to have their children vaccinated, even in some cases calling individual families, Drouin said.
The two-dose vaccine against measles is more than 95 per cent effective at preventing infection, according to Montreal Public Health.
Measles is highly contagious. The virus can remain active and contagious for up to two hours in a room even after an infected person has left, and it has a long incubation period — usually between 10 and 14 days. Its symptoms include fever, cough and a bumpy, red rash.
Common complications are ear infections and diarrhea. In rare cases, measles can be fatal. Dangerous complications can occur in young infants as well as unvaccinated pregnant people and people with low immunity.
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.