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Anyone who was at a hospital waiting room in The Pas earlier this week may have been exposed to measles, Manitoba health officials are warning.
The province is advising anyone who was in the emergency department waiting room at St. Anthony’s General Hospital between 8:20 a.m. and 10:35 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, to monitor for symptoms of the highly contagious disease.
People who were there during that period should check their immunization records to make sure their vaccines are up to date, health officials said in a Friday news release.
Early measles symptoms include a cough and fever, runny nose and conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. Patients usually get white spots on the inside of their mouth about two or three days later, and then a red rash.
People with measles can spread it to others from four days before the rash appears until four days later.
One of the symptoms of measles is a red rash that develops on the face and body. (Aleksandr Finch/Shutterstock)
The contagious disease, which doesn’t have a cure, spreads through droplets that form in the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. The virus can remain in the air for two hours.
Immunization is the only way to protect people against getting measles, the province said.
Manitoba has seen 612 confirmed measles cases and 78 probable cases so far this year, according to provincial data that covers up to Sept. 26 and was updated on Friday.
In August, there were two confirmed cases and no probable cases, the most recent numbers show.
The spread of the disease has slowed considerably since the start of the year, when Manitoba saw a monthly peak of 177 confirmed cases and 34 probable in February. Case numbers have dropped each month since.
Since February 2025, when the outbreak began, 52 people have been hospitalized due to measles, including 26 children under the age of 10, the province’s data shows. Six of the hospitalized people were admitted to intensive care.
The vast majority of people who were hospitalized weren’t vaccinated against measles or had an unknown measles immunization history, according to the province.
No deaths have been reported in Manitoba during the outbreak.
Measles case numbers have dropped elsewhere in the country as well, with no new cases reported in Canada during the week of Sept. 13-19, the latest for which federal data is available.
Manitoba has had more than half of the 1,120 cases reported across Canada this year as of Sept. 19, according to that data.