Ottawa has 1st confirmed measles cases since 2019
Ontario is up to 1,243 cases since October
Ottawa has its first confirmed measles cases since 2019, part of the still-growing outbreak in many parts of the province.
Ontario has now reported 1,243 measles cases across 17 public health units, including 223 new cases in the week since its last update.
That includes new cases in Algoma Public Health and Renfrew County's health unit northwest of Ottawa.
An adult and child from Ottawa are also believed to have contracted measles while traveling abroad, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) said in its own statement Thursday.
OPH has been contact tracing and is warning people who visited these places at these times that they may have been exposed to the highly contagious viral infection:
- The Food Basics at 1021 Cyrville Rd. on April 21 between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
- The Costco at 1405 Blair Towers Pl. on April 23 between 6 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.
The health unit asks people who visited during these times to monitor for symptoms for 21 days after potential exposure and to take certain steps if they do develop symptoms such as fever, cough and runny nose, irritated eyes, white spots in the mouth and a red rash that starts on the face.
People, particularly those born in or after 1970, should check their vaccination record to ensure they are protected. Two doses of a measles vaccine are considered fully protected.
For more information, OPH has set up a webpage and a phone line at 613-580-6744 that will operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
More advice is available through the province and local health authorities.
Growing outbreak in Ontario
Ontario's outbreak began last October with exposure to a travel-related case in New Brunswick.
Public Health Ontario attributes the recent increase to exposures and transmission among individuals who have not been vaccinated.
More than three-quarters of the provincial cases have been children. Of those cases, nearly 95 per cent had not been vaccinated.
So far, 84 cases have required hospitalization, including eight who were admitted to intensive care units.
Between 2013 and 2023. Public Health Ontario says there were 101 confirmed cases of measles reported in Ontario. That means there have been more than 12 times that number in just over six months.
WATCH | More advice during the measles outbreak: