Province sees rise in measles vaccinations

Public health officials encouraged by increase after years of decline

Childhood vacc ination rate s for measles in Al b erta, 2014

Alberta scored a small victory in its battle against the measles last year, when childhood immunization rates increased for the first time in five years.

New provincial statistics show the rate of Alberta children who received at least the first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine climbed to 88 per cent in 2014, up from 85 per cent the year before.

Though the rate remains well off the provincial goal of 98 per cent needed to ensure herd immunity, public health officials were encouraged to see the numbers climb.

“Each percentage increase does provide a higher proportion of immune people in the population and does reduce the probability of the disease being transmitted,” said Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services. “Three per cent is a pretty good jump within one year.”

He attributed the rise, in part, to increased public awareness produced by news of measles outbreaks last year.

In Alberta, health officials identified an unusually high 29 cases of the disease, including 11 in the Edmonton region.

Predy said up until those outbreaks occurred, the measles vaccine had been a victim of its own success. The disease had been largely wiped out in most developed nations, which had the effect of reducing parents’ concern and knowledge of measles, he said.

“One of the reasons why parents sometimes don’t get their kids vaccinated is that they think vaccines are unnecessary because they don’t see the diseases,” Predy said.

“It’s unfortunate it takes disease outbreaks to motivate people, but I think that even when we got news coverage about measles outbreaks in other places — for example the one in California around Disneyland — we really saw a lot of people bringing their kids in to be vaccinated.”

Predy said health officials need to reach communities with chronically low rates.

Calgary region: 90.4 per cent Edmonton region: 89.4 per cent Central region: 85.0 per cent South region: 84.79 per cent North region: 84.48 per cent

That includes rural centres that may not have easy access to public health clinics. A large transient population, particularly in northern Alberta, also provides a challenge. So do specific ethnoreligious communities, such as some Dutch reform communities that have historically rejected vaccines, Predy said.

He said AHS has been talking to community leaders about the dangers of not being immunized. The health authority has also been working with communities of new immigrants who come from countries that lack strong vaccination programs.

“One of the other challenges has been some of our wait times,” Predy said. “We have seen an increasing birth rate, so in some areas we have had an increase in wait times. And when wait times get longer, sometimes people forget to come to their appointment.”

Though improved, Alberta vaccination rates for measles remain well below the national average of 95 per cent.

Typically, children receive their first dose of vaccine around one year of age. A second dose is given between the ages of four and six.

Measles is a highly contagious illness that can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, encephalitis and death.

Herd immunity occurs when enough members of a community become immune to a particular illness that it becomes extremely difficult for it to spread to nonimmunized people, such as newborns. kgerein@edmontonjournal. com