Health officials declare measles ‘outbreak’ at city schools
Health officials confirmed Friday at least eight cases of measles were detected in Vancouver schoolchildren during the week and are officially declaring an outbreak.
Vancouver Coastal Health said they have identified several cases of measles at three French-language schools: Two cases at École JulesVerne, one case at École AnneHébert, and one suspected case at École Rose-Des-Vents.
All eight cases are associated with École Jules-Verne, a secondary school in Vancouver’s South Cambie neighbourhood. Two of those cases were announced earlier this week, with a third confirmed and a fourth suspected case discovered on Thursday. In a conference call Friday, authorities said several more cases are being investigated for a total of at least eight cases.
“Cases are occurring in staff, students and family members affiliated with this school,” medical health officer Dr. Althea Hayden said, adding that at least one child went to the emergency room at B.C. Children’s Hospital while still infectious.
There is an outbreak of measles and a state of emergency in neighbouring Washington state, where at least 54 cases of the disease have been confirmed, but Vancouver’s outbreak has instead been traced to a single city family that recently returned from the Philippines.
“There was an unimmunized family who travelled to an area where there was an outbreak going on,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. “They became ill through contacts there and came back to B.C., and it’s unfortunately spread to some people here.”
Coastal Health spokeswoman Tiffany Akins said staff are still gathering information from parents and children at the affected schools.
Following news of the second case Tuesday, Maple Ridge mother Katie Clunn started a petition that has more than 10,000 signatures, calling on the government to make vaccines mandatory for B.C. schoolchildren.
Asked about the petition, Henry agreed with the sentiment behind the idea, but not the idea itself.
“I actually am not in favour of mandatory immunization because I think it can alienate that very small group of sometimes very vocal people who are against all immunizations,” she said.