From Vancouver Coastal Health: (Full press release here)

A total of eight measles infections have been identified in Vancouver this week.

Measles is a highly infectious disease that spreads through the air. Close contact is not needed for transmission. The disease can also be spread through sharing food, drinks, cigarettes, or kissing an infected person.

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed a few days later by a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the chest. Complications from measles can include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), convulsions (seizures), deafness, brain damage, and death. An infected person can spread measles before knowing they have been infected. People are infectious to others from four days before to four days after the onset of rash.

If you develop the early symptoms of measles, please call your doctor’s office first and tell them that you think you may have measles so they can book you in at a time that will ensure you don’t expose others. This will allow your doctor to take precautions to protect other patients. Please also call Vancouver Coastal Health’s Public Health Team at 604-675-3900 for advice and to report any illness.

To get your vaccine contact:

• Raven Song Community Health Centre
• City Centre Urgent Primary Care Centre
• Your family doctor or pharmacist

For more information on immunization rates at Sir Richard McBride Elementary and other schools visit Vancouver Coastal Health’s immunization coverage page.