Ontario's former measles hot spot sees no new cases for 1st time since spring

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Canada’s former measles hot spot is reporting no new cases for the first time since a spring surge.

Data released by Public Health Ontario shows no additional illnesses in the area covered by Southwestern Public Health, which in April accounted for 45% of the province’s cases and the highest count in Canada.

The benchmark comes after the region reported just one new case for each of the previous three weeks, although there are nine new cases in the neighbouring health unit of Middlesex-London.

Public Health Ontario says they are among 22 new cases over the past week, including four reported by the Grand Erie health unit, eight in the summer destination of Huron Perth and one in Chatham-Kent.

Southwestern Public Health said earlier this week it was ending local weekly measles reports but stressed that the outbreak was not over.

The province’s weekly case additions have hovered around the 20s and 30s lately, with 32 additions logged last week, 21 the week before that, and 11 on July 3.

The latest data brings the province’s total number of infections to 2,298 since an outbreak began in October.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Medical Association is hoping to draw more attention to its outbreak, which logged 1,511 cases as of Thursday.

An expert AMA panel called the province’s measles situation an epidemic on Wednesday.

“We’re probably just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist with the University of Alberta, said on the panel.

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Dr. James Talbot, former chief medical officer of health in Alberta, said describing the spread as an epidemic would appropriately raise the level of urgency for parents to get their kids vaccinated before school resumes.

Talbot urged the government to make measles vaccines available to infants as young as six months old in Edmonton and Calgary.

The province offers early shots to infants in the hardest hit south, central and north zones.

The Alberta government said more than 82,000 measles vaccines were administered across Alberta between March 16 and July 12, representing an increase of more than 55% compared to the same time last year.

Nova Scotia reported 30 cases of measles in the northern zone Thursday, up from the single case reported July 7. Health officials say they believe the cases stemmed from travel within Canada to regions where measles is circulating.

Manitoba said there were 12 new cases in its weekly report Wednesday, bringing its total number of confirmed infections to 158.