Measles 'out of control,' experts warn, as Alberta case counts surpass 1,000

Alberta's measles outbreaks have now eclipsed the 1,000-case mark and infectious disease specialists are warning the virus is "impossible to contain," given the current level of transmission.

The province reported another 24 cases on Friday, including 14 in the north zone, nine in the south and one in the Edmonton zone.

This brings the total confirmed cases since the outbreaks began in March to 1,020.

"It is a very grim milestone," said Dr. Karina Top, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton, which has been treating children with measles.

"I'm very worried we're going to see more hospitalizations and some deaths soon because we know the death rate is about one to two per thousand. So it's likely that we're going to see that and that will be a very tragic day."

Measles is highly contagious and can lead to serious complications including pneumonia, brain inflammation — which can trigger seizures, deafness and brain damage — as well as premature delivery.

A premature baby who was born with measles died in Ontario recently. And another young child died of measles in that province last year.

Doctors warn there are severe long-term consequences as well, including immune system impacts and a degenerative neurological condition that occurs seven to ten years after an initial measles infection. It is rare but nearly always fatal.

Alberta's case count has more than doubled in the last month. On May 20, a total of 486 cases had been confirmed.

"This is out of control," said Top.

The hardest hit areas are the south, central and north zones, where there are some very low vaccination rates among young children.

Case counts have been rising quickly in the north zone, which has now topped 200 cases. The south zone has confirmed 681 cases and the central zone has 105.

And health officials are warning the virus is more widespread in those areas than case counts reflect.

"Due to the number of people in these areas who may not be immune to measles, it's likely that some cases are going undetected or unreported," the Alberta government's measles web page states.

"I think we really need to be doing everything we can to engage with those communities that are affected and community leaders to see how best we can work with them to try to get people vaccinated to help contain this infection," said Top.

"And [we need to] get everyone else up to date so that if there are other cases introduced in Edmonton, Calgary or elsewhere in the province, it can be contained more quickly."

University of Calgary infectious disease physician Dr. Dan Gregson is also worried about Alberta's surging measles cases.

"This transmission is just out of the box. It's impossible to contain at the present time," he said.

"The risk, right now, of your child getting measles in Alberta if they're not immunized is pretty high."

Gregson is urging parents who have opted not to immunize their children to rethink that decision.

"If you had made a decision not to vaccinate because measles was not circulating, that's no longer true. We don't have herd immunity. There's measles circulating in the community. And the best way to prevent your child from having a complication would be to get them vaccinated," he said.

The vast majority of Alberta's measles cases are among the unimmunized.

The most recent data shows 85 Albertans have been hospitalized due to this year's outbreaks, including 14 who have ended up in intensive care.

"Most of these hospitalizations are due to patients having pneumonia — they're short of breath, they have to wear oxygen. Some of them are due to brain inflammation. [It's] not a pleasant thing for the parents or the child to have to go through," said Gregson.

In Edmonton, where the Stollery Children's Hospital is treating the sickest patients from northern Alberta, Top said the outbreaks are taking a toll.

"It is distressing as a pediatrician to see children that are sick from a disease that is completely vaccine preventable."

According to provincial data, as of Friday there was one Albertan in ICU due to measles. No deaths have been reported.