Fourth site linked to measles in Boissevain

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2025 (315 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fourth location in Boissevain has been identified as a measles exposure site, Manitoba Health said Wednesday.

Anyone who was in the RBC Royal Bank branch at 388 South Railway St. on May 9 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. may have been exposed to the virus.

This is an increase from Tuesday, when the province announced there were three exposure sites in Boissevain — the Canada Post office, Goodon Industries and Sunrise Credit Union on May 7, 8 or 9.

Identifying four exposure sites does not necessarily mean there are four people who have the measles, a Prairie Mountain Health public health official told the Sun. It’s a way for health officials to let the public know that an individual with measles was at the locations and someone may have come in contact with that person.

“It defines where, through conversations with a case, that an individual during the period may have been exposed,” said the official.

In the Prairie Mountain region, the measles vaccination rate for children is approximately 70 per cent to 90 per cent across various districts and communities, the health region said.

Manitoba Health is also asking people who may have been in any of the Boissevain locations during the specified times to ensure they are up to date with a vaccine — either measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV).

PMH said it is encouraging all primary care providers across the health region to have vaccine and offer it.

“In Brandon, 7th Street Health Access Centre and the Minor Injury and Illness Clinic (MIIC) have vaccine and can provide vaccination,” the public health official said, adding, “If individuals don’t know what their vaccination status is, they are encouraged to reach out to their local public health office.”

In its weekly update on Wednesday, the province announced 44 confirmed and four probable cases of measles in Manitoba, which includes data up to May 10. Last Wednesday’s case count, which included data up to May 3, listed 20 confirmed and four possible cases.

Manitoba is now lowering the age of vaccine eligibility for infants in high-risk areas. It is expanding eligibility for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to include infants at least six months old who are living in the Southern Health and Interlake-Eastern health regions, or live elsewhere but travel regularly to or are in close contact with people living there.

If someone thinks they may have been exposed — and have not yet been contacted by public health — they are asked to call Health Links in Winnipeg at 204-788-8200 or toll-free 1-888-315-9257. The province advises people to monitor their symptoms for three weeks plus one day if they suspect they were exposed.

Measles is one of the most highly communicable infectious diseases, with greater than a 90 per cent secondary attack rate among people who are susceptible.

Those born before 1970 are presumed to be immune, because measles was spreading widely across Canada at that time and the vast majority have antibodies against measles.

People with confirmed measles are infectious from four days before the onset of a rash to four days after the appearance of the rash.

The virus spreads through the air when a person who is infected breathes, coughs, sneezes or talks. It may also spread through direct contact with secretions from the nose and throat, as well as clothes, utensils and furniture of a person who is infected.

It can persist in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours after a person who is infected has left the space.

But those who recover from measles have lifelong immunity to the disease.

If symptoms develop, PMH said a person should “isolate at home and contact your health care provider and advise them of your potential exposure to measles.”

The first cases of measles were confirmed in southern Manitoba in February, in five people living in the same household who were all connected to an outbreak in Ontario.

Certain people should not get the measles vaccine, including infants less than six months of age, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. These individuals should contact their health-care provider or public health as they may be eligible for preventive treatment.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social