Image Credit: Centers for Disease Control
March 15, 2014 - 4:28 PM
BURNABY, B.C. - Fraser Health is confirming a student from BCIT in Burnaby has been infected by a measles outbreak in Chilliwack.
The health authority is working with the school to alert students who may have come in contact with this person.
Students who attended classes in building NE1 of the BCIT campus on March 6 or 7 may return to school on March 17 if they have two documented doses of MMR vaccine, if they are born before 1970 or if they had measles in the past.
Fraser Health is urging those who have symptoms of measles to isolate themselves at home.
Measles spreads through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
The virus can survive in small droplets in the air for several hours.
What is Measles?
Measles (red measles) is a severe illness caused by the measles virus. Measles spreads easily through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The measles virus can survive in small droplets in the air for several hours. The airborne spread of measles virus makes the disease very contagious.
Symptoms of Measles
The symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and red and inflamed eyes (often sensitive to light). These are followed 3-7 days later by a rash, which starts first on the face and neck, and spreads to the chest, arms and legs, and lasts at least 3 days. You may also notice spots inside your mouth that look like small grains of sand on a red base.
For more information on immunization go to the Interior Health Authority's website.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014