Confirmed measles case leads to exposure warnings in Saskatoon, North Battleford

Another measles case has been confirmed in Saskatchewan, prompting a warning that people may have been exposed to it in about a dozen locations between Saskatoon and North Battleford.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) released a list of places in the two cities where the confirmed case had been in recent days.

So far, there have been a total of three measles cases in Saskatchewan this year — all of them in March. Prior to that, the province had two confirmed measles cases in the past 10 years.

Dr. Mandiangu Nsungu, an SHA Medical Health Officer for the North Battleford and Lloydminster area, blamed the recent resurgence on declining vaccinations and international travel.

"If you have a population or a community which is under-immunized and you have one or more cases of measles in that community, the likelihood of measles being transmitted very easily in the community is much higher than if you had a community with a higher vaccination rate," he said. 

"That's the reason why we are concerned now."

In North Battleford, the case was confirmed Wednesday night and the patient is in isolation. According to Nsungu, the patient was not vaccinated and acquired the infection outside of Saskatchewan, but within Canada.

The SHA is warning of exposure risks in North Battleford at:

• River Valley Eye Care — March 20 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Gold Eagle Casino — Saturday from midnight to 3:30 a.m.
• Shoppers Drug Mart in Frontier Mall — Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Tim Hortons by Frontier Mall — Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Splish Splash Auto and Pet Wash — Sunday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Battleford Union Hospital, Emergency Department:
  • Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  • Monday from  2 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
  • Monday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In Saskatoon, the SHA is warning of exposure risks at:

• Smiley's Buffet and Catering — Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Queen Nails & Spa Confederation Mall — Friday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Play Toon Indoor Playground — Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Tommy Gun's Original Barbershop (831 51st Street Unit 70) — Saturday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
• Tim Hortons (709 Circle Dr. E.) — Saturday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Value Village (2115 Faithful Ave.) — Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
• HomeSense (3047 Clarence Ave. S.) — Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Nsungu said the contagious period for measles is four days before and after the onset of a rash, which is one of the visible signs of measles.

He said if close contacts are fully immunized against the disease, they do not constitute a risk to others because it's highly unlikely they will get infected or transmit the disease.

However, it's important for people who were at those locations at those times, to watch for measles symptoms, he said. If you have to seek health care, call in advance to plan on reducing spread.

What is measles?

Measles begins like many other viral diseases: a fever, cough, runny nose, irritability and watery eyes. After a few days, white spots can appear in the back of the mouth. Then, a red blotchy rash might develop on the face and spread down the body about three to seven days after other symptoms begin.

The virus is considered to be one of the most contagious health threats and can transmit before people show symptoms. It can also have serious side effects, causing ear infections, pneumonia and, in more serious cases, brain infections and potentially death.

Dr. Mahli Brindamour, a pediatrician at the Jim Pattison Children's Hospital, said the recent resurgence — despite it being small — is a "very worrisome state of affairs."

Brindamour has worked in places like Mozambique, where she has seen children die from the disease.

"We forget this in Canada because it's not a disease that we've had contact with very much here, but it's a disease that we need to treat with respect in terms of its morbidity and mortality potential," she said.

Other regions have been much more deeply affected. As of March 1, there were about 140 cases in Ontario and 26 in Quebec.

As of March 6, there were 227 recorded cases of measles in the country this year, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. Most of them are in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children.

In the United States, there have been 378 confirmed cases of measles and at least one confirmed death tied to the disease.

Who can receive booster doses?

The Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine is normally provided in two doses at 12 months and 18 months of age.

In Saskatchewan, 80.2 per cent of two year olds had received two doses of the vaccine in 2020. The following year, that number dropped to 74.9 per cent and has only improved to 75.5 per cent in 2024, according to the provincial Health Ministry.

Provincial data shows 90.4 per cent of seven year olds had been vaccinated in 2020, but that fell to 87.4 per cent by 2024.

Brindamour is concerned vaccination rates are not high enough for herd immunity, which she said is 95 per cent. Herd immunity would help protect people who cannot get vaccinated because they are too young or are immunocompromised.

"What is more upsetting is this is completely preventable; vaccination works very, very well to prevent measles," Brindamour said.