Kitchener-Waterloo

People need to 'remain vigilant' as measles cases rise, Waterloo region's medical officer says

Waterloo region does not currently have any cases of measles, but with outbreaks in nearby Haldimand-Norfolk and other parts of southern Ontario, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang is reminding people to get vaccinated if they're not already and remain vigilant to stop the spread.

No local cases, but increase in measles cases means people should take precautions: Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang

A vial of Priorix MMR vaccine
Public health officials are urging people who are not protected against measles to get vaccinated as cases rise in Ontario and Quebec. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

There are currently no measles cases in Waterloo region, but public health is reminding people to "remain vigilant" to prevent spreading the highly infectious disease.

Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang is the region's medical officer of health. During an update to regional councillors Wednesday night, she noted measles is on the rise in Canada, with outbreaks reported in Quebec and Ontario.

"While international travel was the initial source of these outbreaks, all the people with recent measles infections were exposed to the virus in Canada," Wang told councillors.

"The majority of measles cases reported in Canada occur among unvaccinated people, many of whom are children and include infants under the age of one who are more vulnerable and have not yet had the opportunity to be vaccinated ... that is why we need to remain vigilant and I recommend that we keep up-to-date with the recommended vaccinations."

Portrait of woman
Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang is Waterloo region's medical officer of health. She says there are no current cases of the measles in the region but they are keeping an eye on outbreaks in nearby communities. (Carmen Groleau/CBC)

Concern over vaccination rates

Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam issued a warning on Wednesday that the highly contagious, airborne disease is on the rise.

"Measles can spread very quickly — 90 per cent of people who are not vaccinated or haven't had measles before can become infected if they are near someone with the disease," Tam said in the statement.

"I'm concerned that vaccination rates for measles among children are not high enough in some areas of Canada to prevent the spread of measles."

There are currently 12 confirmed measles cases in the Grand Erie region, which includes Haldimand County, Norfolk County, Brantford, and Brant County. Earlier this week during a media briefly, acting medical officer of health for Grand Erie Public Health, Dr. Malcolm Lock, said he would not be surprised if more cases were reported.

"It's a highly contagious disease," he said.

"In simple terms, if we parachuted an infected person into a susceptible group, how many people would they infect? And that is called the basic reproduction number. And for measles, it's very high — it's 12 to 18, which means to say that if we had ... someone in an unimmunized or susceptible group, they are potentially going to infect 12 to 18 people."

He added, "I can't emphasize more the contagiousness of this disease and the fact that we should take as many precautions as we can."

Better messaging needed: Medical officer

Lock said he also wants to see public health be more vocal about making sure people are being vaccinated against diseases like measles. He said people who are against vaccination "are sending out far more messages probably than we are in a general way."

"I think public health really needs to improve our messaging and try to find out what is the reasoning behind people ... not achieving vaccine status and refusing vaccines," he said. 

"Because one can certainly assume that if that trend continues, we are going to see an increased number of not only measles, but other problems associated with the vaccine prevention, not the least of which of course would be polio."

Dr. Allison McGeer is an infectious disease specialist in Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and says measles is something that can be controlled and the spread could be stopped.

"There are obviously some people who don't believe in these measles vaccine, don't believe vaccines in general. But we also know that during the pandemic, all of the disruptions in being able to see other people and having doctor's offices open have meant that we follow in a little bit behind the measles vaccine," McGeer said.

"So this is a really good time to make sure that we get caught up."

LISTEN | As measles cases spread, here's what you need to know to stay safe:

There are measles outbreaks in parts of southern Ontario. While there are no cases in Waterloo region, local health officials urge people to be careful if they're unvaccinated and feeling sick. Dr. Allison McGeer, an infectious disease specialist with Mount Sinai hospital in Toronto, talks about the recent uptick in cases and how people can avoid getting the measles.

McGeer says Lock is right about needing to improve messaging around measles and vaccinations in general.

"One of the really sad things about the pandemic is that there was so much misinformation, particularly about COVID vaccines, but it's kind of spread into all vaccines, as we've seen now," McGeer said.

"Beyond say, food and water, vaccines are the most important thing in terms of preserving our children's lives and our adult lives," McGeer added. "They save billions of people over the years. They're responsible for the eradication of smallpox and they're an enormous benefit to us. And it's critically important that all of us understand that."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Bueckert

Content producer

Kate has been covering issues in southern Ontario for more than 20 years. She is currently the content producer for CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. Email: [email protected]