Alberta could face a “storm” of measles at the start of the school year

While the propagation of the measles virus does not weaken in Alberta, doctors warn that with the start of the school year which is looming on the horizon, cases of the disease could explode at a level such that provincial public health would lose any control of the situation.

Faced with such a possibility, the Alberta medical association organized a press conference on Tuesday during which doctors called on parents to have their children vaccinated without delay.

The D^r James Talbotassistant professor at the public health school of the University of Alberta and also a former chief hygienist doctor of the province, is one of them.

The best time to do it is now. Do not wait for the start of the school year. Do it now so that they are protected when the school year starts.

Some doctors have even asked the Alberta government to consider requesting proof of vaccination in schools, like Ontario, which requires students to be vaccinated against a number of diseases, including measles.

According to the D^r Talbot, there is no doubt that the province faces an epidemic. Worse still, there is no doubt that the situation is not controlled.

He fears that children return to school in September after participating in summer public rallies, whether family meetings, sports tournaments, summer camps and other events in which they were exposed to the measles virus.

Tuesday noon, Alberta had reported a total of 1472 cases of measles since the start of the disease of the disease in March, and the transmission continues without slowing down.

An additional dose claimed for babies

Many doctors have also renewed their appeal to the government of Alberta so that it authorizes babies aged only six months old, living in all provincial health areas, to benefit from an additional dose of vaccine from an early age.

Currently, the province only offers early vaccination to baby living or traveling in the most affected areas of the South, Center and North.

The D^re Tehseen Ladha is a pediatrician in Edmonton. She believes that it is all the more relevant to offer additional immunization to the eligible babies as, with the coming academic year, the students and their playmates could bring back measles to the house and thus contaminate their youngest brothers and sisters.

There is a false idea that measles is a common disease, but this is not the case. It is one of the most contagious viruses in the world. And children, pregnant women and immunocompromised people are among the most vulnerable groups.

The measles virus can be suspended in the air for several hours after an infected person has left a place. It can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, brain edema and brain damage, premature delivery, or even death.

The D^re Tehseen Ladha stresses that around 10 % of people infected with the virus end up in the hospital.

As of July 12, 114 Albertans had been hospitalized due to the disease, including 15 in intensive care units. No death has so far been reported.

Measures not justified

While declaring that he was working to stop the spread of the disease, the Alberta government considered that the measures suggested by the doctors were not necessary, because they are not supported by the latest data.

The answer is guided by the data and advice of public health experts, in particular the chief hygienist doctorspecifies in a press release the ministry of primary and preventive health services.

We will continue to adjust our approach if necessary according to the new data and advice of expertshe adds.

The province is also opposed to the idea of offering the dose of early vaccine to infants Without a need to have been identifiedbecause, he explains, this “could divert resources from the areas where they are most necessary”.

Alberta also rejects the assertion that it faces an epidemic, explaining that the vast majority of cases are outside Calgary and Edmonton.

With information from Jennifer Lee