18 cases of measles reported in northern B.C., officials say

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 10:37 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Health officials successful British Columbia accidental determination are 18 suspected and confirmed cases of measles successful the bluish portion of the state arsenic they proceed to pass of the highly contagious disease circulating successful a tiny assemblage successful the northeast.

On Friday, Northern Health said they believed the illness was circulating successful Wonowon, located astir 90 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.

The B.C. Centre for Disease Control said Monday that 7 cases person been confirmed done laboratory investigating successful the Northern Health region, and 11 cases are assumed to beryllium measles owed to reported symptoms and exposure.

The 18 cases bring the full fig of confirmed measles cases successful B.C. this twelvemonth to 30.

Measles has been seeing a resurgence successful Canada — peculiarly successful Ontario, wherever officials person counted 2,118 confirmed and probable cases of measles arsenic of Monday, and in Alberta.

Dr. Jong Kim, the main aesculapian wellness serviceman for Northern Health, said the confirmed cases are each mostly successful the northeast, successful the Wonowon and Peace River areas.

"The main messaging that we privation to supply to our assemblage is ... cheque your immunization status," Kim told CBC News.

"If you oregon your household members are susceptible, get yourself a program for the immunization."

In its Friday statement, Northern Health said it believed the archetypal lawsuit of measles successful the Wonowon country was acquired done travel, and determination whitethorn person been assorted measles exposures successful the country since precocious May.

The wellness authorization added that members of the nationalist whitethorn person been exposed to the illness astatine the Fort St. John Hospital exigency country connected June 2, betwixt midnight and 4 a.m. section time.

Wonowon is the tract of the Halfway River First Nation reserve. The federation has a registered colonisation of conscionable nether 300 people, and the Wonowon School says its pupil colonisation is comprised of just nether 60 kids.

Extremely contagious disease

Measles is 1 of the astir contagious diseases known to humankind. Symptoms tin see a fever, coughing, a runny nose, and a blotchy reddish rash.

While wellness officials accidental astir radical are immune to the illness owed to anterior vaccination oregon infection, they're advising members of the nationalist to show for measles symptoms for up to 3 weeks, arsenic it is dispersed done the air.

In superior cases, measles tin origin complications similar inflammation of the brain, pneumonia and death.

WATCH | How aboriginal tin you get your kid a measles shot? 

They accidental that radical astatine hazard of getting the microorganism see those who person not been vaccinated against the illness oregon had a anterior infection, with wellness officials crossed Canada saying that astir of the cases they're seeing are successful unvaccinated people.

Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine or the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine offer almost 100 per cent effectiveness successful the agelong term.

Kim said wellness officials were seeing that measles could origin clusters of outbreaks successful Ontario, with a precocious onslaught complaint for susceptible populations.

"In bluish B.C., peculiarly successful northeast B.C., our immunization complaint is beneath what we request for the herd immunity ... the level that [protects] all the community," the aesculapian wellness serviceman said. 

"So we are watching intimately to guarantee that we tin respond to the concern and support our community."

The wellness authorization is advising anyone successful Wonowon who has been exposed to measles to telephone the Fort St. John Medical Clinic to publication a vaccination.

Officials are asking anyone who has a measles rash to self-isolate for astatine slightest 4 days if they're able.

If anyone is experiencing terrible symptoms, officials are asking them to telephone up earlier seeking wellness attraction truthful that doctors tin hole and forestall further illness spread.