A third case of measles has been confirmed in the capital region, and health officials are alerting anyone who might have come in contact with the person at a thrift store and a grocery store in Saanich.
Island Health says it has called people who might have had contact with the individual, who visited a few health facilities prior to being diagnosed on Tuesday.
Anyone who is not immunized or only partly immunized and visited Beacon Community Thrift Store, at 7060 West Saanich Rd., or Fairway Market, at 7108 West Saanich Rd., between noon and 3 p.m. on March 30, is asked to call the Saanich Health Unit to find out where to get vaccinated this week.
The capital region case brings the total to 23 reported cases in the province, and does not appear to be related to the two confirmed last week in Greater Victoria. Those involve two adults, not related to each other, who contracted the disease while travelling in Vietnam. It also doesn’t appear to be related to other cases in the Lower Mainland, which also involved international travel.
“There’s no known relationship to either of the cases we had in Victoria or others linked to international travel or from the Lower Mainland,” said Dr. Dee Hoyano, medical health officer at Island Health.
For those who are not immunized or only partly immunized and have been exposed to someone with measles, the ideal time to get the vaccine is within six days after exposure.
Those who never had the measles infection, or who did not have two doses of vaccine, are at highest risk of measles and should be vaccinated, which is free, health authorities have said.
One vaccination shot is 85 to 95 per cent effective for preventing measles, while two shots are 99 per cent effective.
Symptoms of measles include fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, diarrhea and red eyes, followed a few days later by a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the chest.
Island Health recommends that those who have symptoms call a health provider before visiting so they can take precautions to prevent transmission.
Last month, Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a measles immunization catch-up campaign, an effort to vaccinate 95 per cent of the province’s youth. In 2018, just 82 per cent of seven-year-olds had received both doses of the measles vaccine, as recommended.
“This is the first week of our catch-up campaign for immunization in schools,” said Dix. Thousands of letters are going out to parents and immunization clinics are being prepared.
“We are doing the work necessary to give everyone who has not been immunized or is not fully immunized against measles, mumps and rubella, to be immunized through April, May and June.”
Before clinic times can be set in schools, parents must be informed and give consent, said Dix.
“We are rolling ahead. We have a three-month program and we’re doing it step by step methodically and seriously.”
Island Health says in the past five weeks, it has administered about 3,474 measles vaccinations — more than double the number given in the same period last year.
The health authority is also offering to provide any other vaccines a client is behind on at the same appointment.
Public health units continue to offer extra clinics to meet increased requests for immunization appointments.
The Saanich Health Unit can be reached at 250-519-5100.
For more information phone 811 or visit healthlinkbc.ca or immunizebc.ca/measles.
Measles information lines have been set up:
South Island: 250-544-7676 ext. 27545
Nanaimo/Ladysmith/Gabriola: 250-755-3388
Courtenay/Comox Valley: 250-331-8599
Campbell River and area: 250-850-2120
Mount Waddington/Port Hardy: 250-902-6079
