A person with measles was on board a flight from Turkey that landed in Montreal on April 3, the Quebec Health Ministry and public health authorities…
Comments closedTag: outbreaks
The Durham Region Health Department is investigating a confirmed case of measles in the region after an adult was exposed during a recent trip abroad.
In a news release on Wednesday, the health department confirmed that “a local adult” is currently isolating at home after acquiring the illness, but it is not mentioned where in Durham region the adult resides.
Durham health has determined that individuals who travelled on the Royal Jordanian Airlines RJ271 flight on Thursday, March 28 departing from Jordan at 10:43 a.m. and arriving to Pearson airport on the same day at 5:24 p.m. local time — may have been exposed to the virus.
Comments closedTopic: avian fluView all posts for the topic: avian flu
Tests confirm avian flu on New Mexico dairy farm; probe finds cats positive
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service yesterday announced that tests have now confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a New Mexico dairy herd and that the virus has now been confirmed in five more Texas dairy herds.
Part of quickly evolving developments, the announcement came shortly after Texas health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first human case, which involves a person from Texas who had contact with dairy cattle, highlighting the risk to farm workers.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Le nombre de cas de rougeole en hausse au Canada
The number of confirmed measles cases in Canada so far this year is more than three times higher than all infections recorded in 2023, the country’s public health official said, urging people to make sure their vaccines are up to date.
The Public Health Agency of Canada identified 40 confirmed cases across the country in 2024, its Chief Administrator, Dr. Theresa Tam, confirmed on Wednesday.
Tam expressed concern that an insufficient number of school-aged children have not been properly vaccinated against the highly contagious virus.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Measles cases in Canada are increasing, Canada’s chief public health officer warns
The number of confirmed measles cases in Canada so far this year is more than three times higher than all infections recorded in 2023, the country’s chief public health officer said as she urged people to ensure their vaccinations are up to date.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is aware of 40 confirmed cases across the country in 2024, Dr. Theresa Tam said on Wednesday.
Tam said she is concerned that not enough school-aged children have been adequately vaccinated against the highly contagious virus.
“I strongly advise parents or caregivers to ensure that children in their care have received all measles vaccines according to schedule,” she said in an interview.
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Video | Third case of measles confirmed in Toronto
Public health officials say they were able to notify all individuals with direct exposure to the third confirmed case of measles in Toronto.
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L’éclosion de rougeole, un symptôme de l’hésitation vaccinale
There have now been around thirty cases of measles in Quebec since the start of the year. While this number may not seem high, measles outbreaks indicate that vaccination coverage is inadequate. Interview with Ève Dubé, anthropologist and holder of the CIHR Applied Public Health Chair in the Anthropology of Vaccination Issues, INSPQ-ULaval.
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Topic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Measles is highly contagious, but vaccine-preventable: A primer on recent outbreaks, transmission, symptoms and complications, including ‘immune amnesia’
Canada is seeing a resurgence of measles, with cases in the first quarter of 2024 already far surpassing the total for all of 2023. There were 12 cases last year, and more than three times that number so far in 2024, with 38 reported as of March 19.
Most of these cases (28) are in Québec, and eight are in Ontario, while Saskatchewan and British Columbia have each reported one case.
As an immunologist with a focus on host-microbe interactions and antiviral immunity, I have been following recent measles outbreaks.
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Respiratory virus levels mostly steady, but 13 flu hospitalizations in latest update
Respiratory disease levels have remained mostly steady in the past week, Ottawa Public Health says in its latest update.
Influenza remains a major concern with 13 more patients hospitalized in the seven days ended March 16. There were 14 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, which OPH described as “low and decreasing since last week.”
There were 45 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, about half of them in patients 65 years of age and older.
Continue readingRespiratory virus levels mostly steady, but 13 flu hospitalizations in latest update
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Probe links COVID spread to school bus riders from sick driver
The proportion of children infected with COVID-19 while riding a bus to a school in Germany was about four times higher than in peers who didn’t ride the bus, illustrating efficient transmission during multiple short rides on public transport, finds a study published this week in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
A team led by researchers from the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin and public health officials used surveillance data, lab analyses, case-patient and household interviews, a cohort study of all students in grades 1 to 4, and a cohort study of bus riders to investigate a 2021 COVID-19 outbreak that involved an infected bus driver and his passengers. The rides lasted 9 to 18 minutes, and multiple schools in a single district were involved.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Video | Doit-on craindre une épidémie de rougeole ?
Microbiologist and Cégep de l’Outaouais professor Patrick Fillion answers your questions about measles.
Comments closedA second lab-confirmed case of measles has been identified in Toronto.
The city’s public health agency said that an infant who recently returned from travel has contracted the disease. The child is recovering at home.
The first Toronto case was identified on Feb. 16.
Toronto Public Health is warning that anyone who attended the Agincourt Public Library between 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on March 11 may have been exposed. Individuals should monitor for symptoms until April 1 and double check that their vaccinations are up to date.
Comments closedTopic: measlesView all posts for the topic: measles
Canada heading toward major measles outbreak without vaccine boost, new modelling suggests
As measles cases keep appearing in more parts of the country, new projections suggest there’s a high chance Canada may experience a “sizable outbreak” — with anywhere from dozens to thousands of people infected if the disease strikes communities with low vaccination rates.
As of Friday, at least 31 cases of measles have been reported so far this year across Canada, according to a CBC News tally of provincial and regional figures released by public health teams.
That’s already the largest annual total since 2019 and more than double the number of cases reported last year, as medical experts fear the number will rise while more Canadians travel in and out of the country this month for March break.
Comments closedTopic: MontrealView all posts for the topic: Montreal
Mask mandate reinstated in some Quebec health facilities following rise in measles cases
New data shows Quebec with 21 measles cases as of Friday 2 p.m., including 15 in Montreal.
According to the CIUSSS de l’Est, health centres in the eastern part of the island have responded by reinstating mask mandates and launching a vaccination campaign in elementary schools.
Notre-Dame and Sainte-Justine Hospitals are also among those requiring patients to wear masks to stop the spread.
“I feel like it’s necessary, especially to protect those who are more vulnerable,” said Montrealer Selena Ringwald. “Masking really doesn’t bother me, even as someone who has breathing issues after having COVID.”
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COVID-19 : six recours collectifs contre des foyers pour aînés iront de l’avant
The Ontario Superior Court authorizes six class actions against private operators of long-term care homes charged with negligence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The complainants allege that the operators of these homes were not at all prepared for a pandemic and did not take the necessary measures to protect their residents and visitors. More than 200 centres, owned and managed by Chartwell Retirement Residences, Extendicare, Responsive Group, Revera, Schlegel Villages and Sienna Senior Living, are subject to these class actions.
Comments closedTopic: PEIView all posts for the topic: PEI
COVID-19 outbreak in Montague hospital’s in-patient unit ends
An outbreak of COVID-19 at Kings County Memorial Hospital’s in-patient unit is over, Health P.E.I. confirmed Sunday.
The outbreak at the hospital in Montague was declared on Feb. 22. Visitor restrictions were put in place to limit the number of partners-in-care per patient.
The health agency is encouraging visitors to the in-patient unit to wear a mask and to stay away if they feel ill.
Comments closedTopic: QuebecView all posts for the topic: Quebec
Deux nouveaux cas de rougeole à Montréal, pour un total de 12 au Québec
The Quebec Ministry of Health reports on Thursday two more cases of measles, bringing to 12 the total number of confirmed infections in the province since the beginning of the year.
The Quebec Ministry of Health indicates that since the beginning of the year, two cases of measles have been reported in Laval, north of Montreal, and another in Mauricie–Centre-du-Québec.
The Direction régionale de santé publique de Montréal states that seven cases reported in its territory, including the two new infections, are due to transmission in the community. The other two cases are related to international travel.
The regional agency says it is intensifying its efforts to trace the contacts of infected people.
Authorities said last Monday that the number of cases in Quebec was worrying, noting that measles vaccination rates were sometimes as low as 30% in some schools in Montreal.
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