As of Friday there have been more than 1,000 measles cases reported in Alberta, with infections continuing to rise this week in the South and North zones.
Twenty-four new infections were reported in the province on Friday to reach a total of 1,020 known cases since March. New cases included 14 in the North Zone, nine in the South, and one in Edmonton.
Measles is an extremely contagious disease that spreads easily through the air, and 25 cases were known to be infectious on Friday.
鈥淎lberta鈥檚 government takes the current measles situation seriously and continues to closely monitor the outbreak. Public health officials are actively engaged in limiting further spread and supporting affected individuals and families," said a Primary and Preventative Health Services official, in a statement.
"To improve access to immunization, AHS has expanded measles clinics across the province. This includes extended hours and additional clinic locations based on local risk and immunization needs across the province 鈥� particularly in the South Zone, where immunization rates have been lower."
The South Zone has been the hardest hit with 681 cases so far. The North Zone has seen 207, Central Zone has had 104 cases, and there have been seven in Edmonton, and 20 in Calgary.
The department official said the Don't Get Measles, Get Immunized campaign, which was launched in May, was translated into more than 14 languages, and will continue to mid-August. AHS Public Health also launched a call-out campaign to parents of 6 to 11-month-old children in the South, Central and North Zones, notifying them of their child鈥檚 eligibility for early vaccination.
"These efforts are making a difference. Between March 16 and June 14, more than 67,000 measles vaccines were administered across Alberta 鈥� an increase of more than 55 per cent compared with the same period last year. In the South Zone alone, vaccine uptake rose by 130 per cent."
Sarah Hoffman, Alberta New Democrat Shadow Minister for Health, said the UCP government's incompetent response to the outbreak means more and more people are paying the price.
鈥淧eople are getting sick with this potentially life altering and deadly disease because the government hasn't taken vaccines seriously and they haven't done their job to promote public health," said Hoffman, in a statement.
鈥淭he good news is there is an effective vaccine available to all Albertans. Please call 811 to ensure your vaccines are up to date; if they aren鈥檛, you can get an MMR booster which could save your life.鈥�
In Alberta, the vaccine is available free of charge.
For potential exposure details, or to learn how to protect against measles, visit .
