The potential exposures were June 20 at the Hot and Cold on Cook Street and on four sailings of the Coastal Celebration ferry the same day.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is warning the public of possible measles exposures at a Victoria cafe and on a B.C. Ferries vessel travelling between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay.
The BCCDC said the ferry exposures took place June 20 in the Tsawwassen terminal between 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and on four sailings of the Coastal Celebration:
• 12 p.m. Coastal Celebration ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay
• 2 p.m. Coastal Celebration ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen
• 6 p.m. Coastal Celebration ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen
• 8 p.m. Coastal Celebration ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay
It said B.C. Ferries is reaching out to employees and reserved customers who were on those sailings.
The Victoria exposure also occurred June 20, between. 3 and 6 p.m. at the Hot and Cold Cafe at 313 Cook St.
The news comes as 17 new cases have been reported in Fraser Health, Interior Health, and Northern Health.
B.C.’s Fraser Health authority reported confirmed cases in Chilliwack, Interior Health authority announced Tuesday that it had a confirmed case of measles in a person in Kamloops, and a bulletin from Northern Health earlier this month said it had identified “multiple lab-confirmed cases” of measles in the community of Wonowon, located about 90 kilometres northwest of Fort St. John.
As of June 19, there were 49 cases of measles reported in B.C. with 12 currently active.
Measles is highly infectious with airborne transmission, and those born after 1970 who haven’t received two doses of vaccine are at higher risk of falling ill, including children under one year of age.
Measles can be very mild but it can also very serious, with almost one in 10 people being hospitalized, according to the BC CDC.
If you were exposed between June 16 and 21, you could develop symptoms up to July 12, said the BCCDC.
Symptoms can develop between seven and 21 days and include fever, cough, runny nose, and red and inflamed eyes. That’s followed by a rash — that lasts four to seven days — that starts on the face and neck and rapidly spreads to the chest, arms and legs. White spots may also appear inside the mouth.
Measles can cause serious complications like pneumonia, encephalitis which is inflammation of the brain, and even death, said the centre.
There is no specific medical treatment for measles. Treatment is focused on managing complications and symptoms through rest, hydration, and medications for fever.
Those who may have been exposed and are in vulnerable categories including those who are unvaccinated and pregnant, born after 1970 and unvaccinated, immunocompromised should contact their local public health unit.
If you have been exposed, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control suggests you monitor forsymptoms of measlesand if you become ill call your health care provider — primary care provider’s office, urgent care or emergency department — before visiting to allow for appropriate precautions can be taken.
Those with additional questions about measles or want to know how to book an immunization appointment can callHealthLinkBCat 8-1-1 or their local health unit and ask for the communicable disease nurse:
• North Vancouver Island: 250-331-8555 or 1-877-887-8835
• Central Vancouver Island 250-740-2616 or 1-866-770-7798
• South Vancouver Island: 250-388-2225 or 1-866-665-6626
• Fraser Health: 604-507-5471
• Interior Health: 1-855-549-6364
• Northern Health virtual care clinic: 1-844-645-7811
• Vancouver Coastal Health: 604-675-3900 or 1-855-675-3900
[email protected]
— With files from The Canadian Press