Despite a surge in summer vaccinations, health officials say the measles outbreak in northeastern British Columbia shows no sign of slowing down.
Dr. Rakel Kling, a medical health officer for Northern Health, says the spread of the virus continues to be concentrated around Fort St. John.
“Cases are spreading quite rapidly within families,” said Kling. “So if one sibling has it, then they’re very likely to spread it to the next sibling. We’re seeing almost entire families with all siblings getting measles.”
The province’s worst outbreak since 2014 began at an elementary school north of the city in May, and spread quickly through exposures at shops and businesses, as well as the local hospital.
As of Oct. 23, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported 245 total cases across northern B.C., with 232 in the northeast.
“These are concerning numbers, and we know this is an under-reporting of cases because these are just lab-confirmed cases and linked cases within families,” Kling said. “There’s certainly a lot of other cases that aren’t getting reported.”
The spring outbreak triggered a surge in vaccinations over the summer. Uptake jumped 45 per cent year over year in May, 117 per cent in June, and 221 per cent in July, according to Northern Health data. Those rates slowed through August into September, but still remained well above average.
“It’s great to see,” said Kling. “We want to see more people get vaccinated, but what this is telling me is that probably the majority of the people who do want to get vaccinated have probably accessed the vaccine already.”
Kling said a community needs 95 per cent vaccination coverage to reach herd immunity, and no region in the north meets that mark. In the northeast, many communities sit between 60 to 70 per cent coverage, she said.
Northern Health’s model suggests Fort St. John could continue to see five or more new cases a day into the foreseeable future as transmission stays high. Other areas of northern B.C. show minimal or no transmission.
“It’s certainly helping us predict perhaps what a worst-case scenario may look like,” said Kling. “It’s certainly by no means a clear idea of what’s going to happen in the future.”
Kling encourages families to talk to their doctor or pharmacist if they have questions or hesitations about getting their shots.
“We do know there are serious outcomes from measles and we want to try our best to prevent that from happening.”
