Province confirms more than 100 measles cases this year

More than 100 people have contracted measles in Manitoba this year.

There have been 14 confirmed and four probable cases in June, according to data accurate as of Saturday and released by the province Wednesday.

There have now been 105 confirmed measles cases and eight probable since February, with the majority of confirmed cases in May.

Four new locations in southern Manitoba were pinpointed as possible exposure sites to measles Tuesday:

• Triangle Oasis Restaurant in Winkler, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on June 11,
• VB’s Entertainment Center in Winkler, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on June 9,
• The Manitou Motor Inn’s bar, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on June 9 and
• Steinbach Church of God in Steinbach from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 1.

Public health officials asked anyone who was in these locations during those times to check their immunization records and ensure they are up to date with measles vaccines.

At Triangle Oasis Restaurant, co-owner Jonny Neufeld said he’d heard their family restaurant was an exposure site through a news article Tuesday. He said they’re taking extra precautions, in part because many of his staff are related, meaning if one person gets infected, it could trigger widespread absences.

“The waitresses that we had for that evening, we’re paying attention to them, making sure that nothing is happening, nobody’s getting sick or nothing,” he said Wednesday.

He’s watched as the number of exposure sites in Winkler have risen. While he is immune through childhood immunization, he’s concerned for others in the community.

“I feel like there’s a vaccine for it, and people that aren’t taking it are crazy,” he said.

“People (have) been taking that vaccine for years, and more and more people here aren’t taking it for their kids, and it’s just like, what are they thinking? (Measles) kills.”

He believes negative views around vaccines that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic remain prevalent in the community.

“Because of the COVID vaccine, I guess, people don’t want to take any kind of vaccine — well, this measles vaccine has been going on for a while, people have been using for years, and they’re still fine,” he said.

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Manitoba expanded its eligibility criteria for measles vaccines on May 30 to include some children between the ages of six months and a year.

An additional dose can be given to children that age living in Southern Health-Santé Sud or the Interlake Eastern health regions, those who travel regularly or have close contact with people from those regions, or people who have been evacuated from their home communities due to wildfires.

While most people recover from measles within three weeks, the virus is highly contagious and can be particularly deadly for kids. Complications can include ear infections, pneumonia, seizures, brain damage or death. Measles during pregnancy can cause premature births, babies born with low birth weights or miscarriage.

The only way to prevent measles is to be immunized.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.

Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.