2 new exposure sites identified as measles cluster grows in N.S.

There are five more cases of measles in Northern Nova Scotia, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 35.

Public Health expected the number to rise, and said these new cases are all connected.

It also won't give specifics about the location of the patients, only that they're in Northern Nova Scotia.

The first infection started after travel to a part of Canada with a known measles outbreak, and those who are sick live within a "limited community," said Dr. Cristin Muecke, the regional medical officer of health for the Northern Zone.

"We're certainly hoping that we see a turnaround and a drop in numbers very soon," she said.

Muecke said some people have needed treatment, but no one has been hospitalized.

"We haven't seen any spread beyond that [population] and the reason for that of course is that the majority of our population in Northern Zone is well vaccinated," she said.

"The folks that are impacted have been doing a really great job themselves trying to limit spread outside of that group."

2 new exposure sites

The update also came with the addition of two new possible exposures from earlier in July.

The first is at the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Lower Sackville on Sunday, July 6. That is specifically for the waiting area of the mobile primary care clinic and the blood collection waiting room.

There was also a possible exposure at the Guardian Kennetcook Pharmacy on July 3 and 6.

Muecke says there was a delay in reporting those exposures because the patient didn't know they had measles and were contagious when they visited the sites.

"The natural history of a measles infection is that the first couple of days, it looks and feels essentially like a common cold. The characteristic rash typically only appears on day three to four."

Muecke says there has been strong turnout for vaccines this year, especially among those born between 1970 and 1996.

It's recommended that people in that age range go get a booster, because they were likely only given one shot, not two when they were initially immunized.

It's assumed that anyone born before 1970 has natural immunity after being exposed, but Public Health says there's no harm in getting a booster shot.

Babies in Nova Scotia receive their first shot at 12 months, but public health says if they are travelling outside of Canada or to areas with outbreaks, they can receive a dose when they're as young as six months old.