Alberta surpasses all of the United States in confirmed measles cases

After 30 new cases were identified over the weekend, Alberta now has more confirmed cases of measles than the United States. Once declared eradicated in Canada in 1998, measles has made a comeback, spreading rapidly in recent months due to declining vaccination rates.
The province has now seen 1,314 cases since the beginning of March.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 1,288 cases so far this year across 39 states.
According to pediatric infectious diseases physician Joan Robinson of Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital, there is no reason why Alberta should have this many cases. She said, “It is completely ridiculous,” noting that Alberta’s childhood immunization rates are below the threshold for herd immunity, which for measles requires that at least 95% of the population be immunized. According to data released by the Alberta government on Monday, more than 1,000 people with lab-confirmed cases are not vaccinated. The majority of those who have fallen ill are children and teenagers, who make up over 950 of the cases.
Dr. Robinson blames misinformation that spread during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as parents these days not having been exposed first-hand to the horrors of measles.
“They’re maybe somewhat concerned that vaccines are bad, not realizing that measles is quite a severe infection. One in ten children who get the measles end up in the hospital. About one in 1,000 will get encephalitis, which is the inflammation of the brain, can cause long-term brain damage, and can certainly result in death,” Robinson said.Robinson said herd immunity is critical not just for protecting your own family, but also other children who can’t get vaccinated, such as those who have had a heart transplant or are undergoing chemotherapy.
Robinson said, “They’re at very high risk for measles even if they were immunized before they had the cancer or the transplant.” Measles, which is known for its distinctive red rash, is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet. It has an R number of 12 to 18, which means that one infected person can spread the virus to up to 18 other people in an unvaccinated population. To put that into perspective, the original strain of COVID-19 had an The outbreak of the highly contagious disease hasn’t led to any deaths so far in Alberta.
Three people, including two children, have died in the United States. Last month in Ontario, a premature infant died after being born infected with the highly contagious virus through the mother.
In that case, doctors said measles was a significant contributing factor, but the infant also had other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus.
The CDC reports that 162 people have been admitted to the hospital in the United States, compared to just over 100 Albertans.

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