The Northwestern Health Unit has advised the public to take precautions after a single cases of measles was diagnosed in the Kenora area.
KENORA – A Northwestern Ontario health unit is reporting a case of measles.
The Northwestern Health Unit said the individual, diagnosed in the Kenora area, is following the appropriate public health measures.
Members of the public who attended Lake of the Woods District Hospital’s emergency room/department on Dec. 22 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and from 3 p.m. on Dec. 26 through 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, as well as the Kenora Library on Dec. 23 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., are advised to get a measles vaccination unless they meet certain criteria.
If you were not at any of the locations named, if you were born before Jan. 1, 1970, if you have two doses of the measles (MMR) vaccine or if you have lab confirmation of immunity you do not need an urgent vaccination.
If you were at the two locations at the times listed and are not considered immune, and you were born after Jan.1, 1970, you should call your local Northwestern Health Unit office.
The health unit, in a release issued on Monday night, says measles is a highly contagious virus that can lead to serious complications, adding the virus can be live in the air for up to two hours, even after the person with measles has left the area.
A person is contagious for four days before and four days after the rash appears.
Symptoms include fever, a runny nose, sneezing, a cough and red, sore, watery eyes. Some people get small spots in their mouth.
If you were exposed and are not protected, and work or attend a school or work in health care, you are asked to stay home and contract your local public health unit. High-risk individuals should also contact their health-care provider to discuss options, including vaccination and immunoglobulin.
High-risk individuals include babies under a year, those with severely weakened immune systems and pregnant individuals who are not immune.