Canada Global(Web News)Measles, one of the world’s most contagious viruses, is quietly spreading in parts of Canada as health officials brace for more imported infections during the March break travel season.
By one count, the country now has at least nine confirmed infections for 2024, a two-month tally not far from a dozen cases across Canada in 2023.
Two recent cases, identified in Quebec and Ontario, were not previously linked to travel and did not come into contact with any known measles cases, suggesting that the individuals may have been infected in their communities.
Laval Public Health announced Thursday that one infected person has been in home isolation since Feb. 26 and previously visited a school, a corner store, a medical clinic and the CHU Sainte-Justine hospital in the Montreal suburb of Laval. , while highly contagious. Officials said the individual was not vaccinated and had not traveled.
We believe this is the beginning of community transmission.
The Quebec case comes after another infection reported this week in York Region, a municipality north of Toronto, that was unrelated to travel. Health officials there say a man in his 30s was infected by an unknown source.