April 04, 2019 - 11:40 AM
VICTORIA - The number of confirmed cases of measles in British Columbia has now climbed to 23, with a new case reported on Vancouver Island.
Island Health confirms a person in the region has developed the highly infectious disease, pushing the number of cases to three, although officials say the latest one does not appear related to the two confirmed last week.
The health authority says individuals may have been exposed to measles if they were at two locations in Saanich between noon and 3 p.m. on March 30.
Those locations include the Beacon Community Services Thrift Store at 7060 West Saanich Road and Fairway Market at 7108 West Saanich Road, both in the Brentwood Bay area, north of Victoria.
Unimmunized or incompletely immunized people who may have been exposed have until Friday to receive a vaccination, or symptoms including red, eyes, fever, runny nose could develop over the next 21 days followed by a rash that starts on the face and spreads.
Along with the three cases on the Island, 17 cases of measles have been diagnosed in the Vancouver area since February and two cases have been identified in 100 Mile House, in the southern Cariboo region of B.C.
A two-month voluntary measles vaccine catch-up drive is underway across B.C., in an effort to vaccinate 95 per cent of youth before next fall's mandatory immunization registration of all elementary and high school students.
In the past five weeks Island Health says it has administered a total of 3,474 measles vaccinations, more than double the number administered in 2018.
The health authority is also offering to bring all a clients' immunizations up to date in a single appointment and says it continues to offer extra clinics to meet increased requests for immunizations.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019