WELLINGTON COUNTY – Measles cases continue to rise in the region and recent exposure sites within Wellington County include three schools, two businesses and one community centre.
“Measles is spreading in our communities and anyone not fully vaccinated is at risk of this potentially serious illness,” stated associate medical officer of health Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum in a May 1 press release.
“Measles is very contagious so know your vaccination status and get fully up to date with the measles vaccine if you are not already covered.”
As of May 6, there are 61 cases in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region, spokesperson Chuck Ferguson told the Advertiser.
That includes both confirmed and probable cases, he explained, with the latter generally being “individuals for whom testing isn’t available/wasn’t done but where we have enough other information available to consider them a case.”
On May 1, WDGPH posted a list of school and community exposure sites on its website.
As of May 6, school exposures include:
- two at Erin Public School, on April 16 between 9am and 4:30pm, and on May 1 during school hours;
- three at Brisbane Public School, on April 14 (1 to 5:30pm), April 15 (9am to 5:30pm) and April 16 (9am to 4:30pm); and
- one at Centre Peel Public School in Mapleton Township, April 28 and 29 during school hours.
Recent community exposures include:
- Freshco in Fergus, April 4 from 7:30 to 10:15pm;
- Centre 2000 in Erin, April 15 from 6:30 to 10:30pm;
- Mar-Span Home Hardware just outside Drayton, April 21 to 23;
- Guelph Medical Place Pharmacy, April 21 between 12 and 4:30pm, and May 1 between 1 and 3:45pm; and
- two locations in Dufferin County: Amaranth Auto Service (April 16 to 18) and Kelseys restaurant in Orangeville (evening of April 17.
WDGPH officials say they will report all measles exposures that occur in a school/childcare facility.
“For all school/childcare exposures, students, staff and teachers have been notified and no further action is required from the public,” states the website.
Public health issues community exposure notices when it is “unable to contact all individuals who may have been exposed at specific locations and timeframes.”
Officials say those who are fully vaccinated do not need to take any further action when it comes to community exposure locations.
“If you are not fully vaccinated and were at one of the locations … at the time and date indicated, you should monitor for symptoms for 21 days,” the website states.
Measles symptoms include:
- fever;
- runny nose;
- cough;
- red, watery eyes (conjunctivitis);
- tiny white spots inside the mouth (Koplik’s spots); and
- red, blotchy rash that starts on the face and spreads downward (generally starts three to seven days after symptoms begin).
“If you develop symptoms or suspect you have measles, contact your doctor’s office and let them know you may have measles so they can take the appropriate precautions before you visit,” states the public health press release.
For general questions about measles, call 1-800-265-7293 ext. 7006 to speak with a public health nurse.
For more information on measles, visit wdgpublichealth.ca/measles.
For measles outside of Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, view the Public Health Ontario measles exposure dashboard.
