Measles exposure at rural school, bus used for Manitoba Museum field trip

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This article was published 06/05/2025 (474 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A bus used to take students on a field trip to the Manitoba Museum has been identified as a potential measles exposure site last week.

Provincial health officials announced Tuesday that some of the most recent exposures involved people who were unaware they had been in contact with a person who had the infectious illness.

Health officials said Tuesday the measles exposure was on Bus 128, route 79, which services École Dugald School and also takes students to Oakbank Elementary, Springfield Middle School, and Springfield Collegiate Institute, on April 29 and 30 and May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., and 3:40 p.m. to 6 p.m.  The route “includes École Dugald School field trip on May 2 to the Manitoba Museum,” officials said in a release.

Provincial officials clarified Wednesday that the individual with measles did not attend the museum field trip, but Bus 128 was used for transport. Measles is highly infectious and spread through droplets in the air formed when coughing or sneezing; droplets can stay in the air for several hours.

Other exposures were at:

• Dugald School, on April 29 and 30, and May 2, from 8:45 a.m. to 5:40 p.m., and
• Bus 26, route 72, which services the same schools as the other bus and on the same days, but from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., and 4 p.m. to 6:45 p.m.

People who were in these places are advised to watch for symptoms until May 24, including a red rash, fever, cough, runny nose, upper respiratory symptoms and fatigue. Serious complications such as pneumonia, blindness and death are possible.

As well, Manitobans were also exposed at the Boundary Trails Health Centre’s emergency department waiting room on April 27 from 4:11 p.m. to 10:07 p.m. People have to watch for symptoms until May 19.

To date, the province has announced 10 confirmed cases of measles, with four of them confirmed in April, along with four probable cases during that month.

The province says it will only announce the status of measles cases on Wednesdays.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca