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A sign warning patients and visitors of a measles outbreak is presented in a Vancouver clinic in Wash.
The Montreal Department of Public Health reported the first measles outbreak in the city several years after a girl contracted the highly contagious disease of a family member and then passed it on to a health worker.
The authorities are now trying to find up to 400 people who could have come into contact with the infected health worker.
The caregiver had visited six communities from May 11 to 14 in the West Island, St. Laurent and the Town of Mount Royal. In particular, the nurses intend to give vaccines to all children or unvaccinated T.M.R. nursery.
The authorities have also made the extraordinary decision to offer free measles vaccines from Friday, 14 June to 14 June to all those who have not received both standard doses.
To date, Montreal has reported seven cases of measles this year, compared to four in annual averages. What distinguishes the two new cases from the others is that people contracted measles in the city and not abroad.
"With measles, for us, a (secondary) case is an epidemic," Drylène Drouin, director of the Montreal Public Health Department, told reporters at a hastily held press conference. Thursday afternoon.
"The secondary cases tell us that we have an ongoing transmission and, of course, collective immunity is not enough to stop transmission," explained Drouin. "That's the reason we're concerned."
The health worker who cared for the infected girl had already received both doses for measles, but still had the disease, added Drouin, adding that both vaccines provided 95% protection but were not not infallible.
The authorities have already traced the girl's contacts, but concluded that it was impossible to do so fully in the case of the health worker. As a result, the authorities have published a list of all places visited by the health worker. The places and times are:
Saturday, May 11th:
- École des Sources (Iranian Cultural Society of the West Island), 2900 Lake St. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, from noon to 1:05 pm.
- A Tim Hortons outlet at 3760, boul. in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, from 12:15 pm to 1:25 pm
- A branch of the Royal Bank at 4400, boul. Sources at Dollard-des Ormeaux, from 12:25 pm to 1:35 pm
- Beautician Manju Beauty at 3637 Sources Blvd. in Dollard des Ormeaux, from 2 to 5 pm
Sunday, May 12th:
- Courtyard Marriott Hotel (lobby and pool), 7000, Place Robert-Joncas in St-Laurent, starting at 3pm. at 17:30
Tuesday, May 14th:
- The Outremont Adventurer Daycare, 196 Bates Rd, second floor at T.M.R., starting at 4:30 pm. at 5:35 pm
"What's important is to ask yourself if you were in any of these specific places at the times listed," Drouin said. "These are the times when we considered that the virus was in the air.
"If the answer is yes, the second question to ask yourself is: are you protected? You are considered protected if you were born before 1970 or if you have both doses of vaccine. "
People at high risk of measles complications are children under one year old, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. Drouin encouraged those who doubted being vaccinated to call the 811 Info-Santé hotline.
Drouin estimated that between 200 and 400 people could have been exposed to the contagious health worker. The measles virus can be transmitted to others by coughing and sneezing. It can live up to two hours in the air when an infected individual coughs.
The epidemic declared Thursday was followed by three measles exposure alerts since February. In all three cases, individuals caught measles during a trip to Europe and the Caribbean.
Both secondary infections are from the third measles alert. An unvaccinated person returned to Montreal with measles on April 26 after a trip to Paris.
In turn, this person transmitted the virus to a female member of the family in Montreal, without his knowledge. The girl then transmitted measles to an inoculated health worker, highlighting the highly contagious nature of the virus.
The authorities managed to find all the contacts of the girl. During the first weekend of May, 39 teachers and students were examined at a CLSC clinic in Ahuntsic, and 12 were vaccinated because they missed one of the two required doses.
The infected health worker is the second case of this type in Montreal. On April 7, the McGill University Health Center issued a measles exposure alert after an employee had contracted the disease while he was on vacation in the Caribbean. The worker had been vaccinated against measles, but officials said the immune response may fade over time.
Although the MUHC did not report any secondary infections, the Montreal Gazette learned that the hospital network sent 15 home workers worried about whether they had been vaccinated or not.
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