As measles cases surge overseas, health official says N.L.'s high vaccine rate is in its favour
Europe has seen a spike in cases of the contagious airborne virus
While there has been a sharp increase in cases of measles in other parts of the world, Newfoundland and Labrador's top public health official says her focus is on maintaining high vaccination rates.
According to the World Health Organization there were more than 42,000 cases in 2023 in Europe — a 44-fold increase from 2022.
It's in part due to some children missing routine vaccinations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In places where vaccination rates have dropped, there has been a risk of measle cases.
With the rise of cases overseas, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, N.L.'s chief medical officer of health, said her biggest concern is ensuring that the provincial population has high vaccine rates.
"That's the key in protecting the individual. But it's also the key in protecting the population as a whole," she told CBC News.
She said making sure the population has a vaccination rate around 95 per cent has been her focus.
Fitzgerald said children at the age of 12 months and 18 months get the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccines. N.L. has a high rate of vaccination in that age group.
"So we're quite, quite happy with that and I'm very confident in that result."
Like other areas during the height of the pandemic, there were some gaps in routine vaccinations for young children in N.L., she said, but public health has been working to ensure they have caught up.
"We did see a little dip during the pandemic, but we're pretty confident that that has come back up now," Fitzgerald said.
Airborne virus
Fitzgerald said measles is a disease caused by a virus, which is very contagious. Symptoms include a fever, runny nose, red eyes and possibly a cough. People feel unwell and also develop a rash that starts on the face and then spreads.
People are also contagious for five days before the rash develops and four days after the rash recedes, she said.
The virus is also airborne, which is an additional worry because it can linger in the air, she added.
According to the WHO, the virus can stay in the air for two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
"So even after you come into a room when the person who has measles may have vacated, you can be exposed and become infected," Fitzgerald said.
However, she said two doses of the measles vaccine is "nearly 100 per cent effective" at preventing infection, which is why it's so important to get vaccinated against measles.
In 1988 Canada eliminated measles through widespread vaccination programs. Any time there's a reduction in vaccination rates, she said, there's a risk that measles will be introduced into a susceptible population.
Fitzgerald said the last case in N.L. was around 2017 and it was travel-related. With high immunization rates, cases in N.L. tend to be connected to travel.
She also encouraged people travelling to areas where there are measles cases to get vaccinated.
"It's really important to try to focus on increasing those vaccination rates and for people to understand that measles vaccine has been around for quite some time," said Fitzgerald.
She added it's a safe and effective vaccine that prevents people from developing a significant disease.
While most people won't develop major complications, some — including infants, pregnant people and people who are immunocompromised — can develop long-term health complications, including pneumonia or inflammation of the brain.
Death can occur in rare cases, Fitzgerald said.
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With files from Carolyn Stokes
