Alberta doctor warns new measles surge ‘alarming’

Measles cases have surged in Alberta after several quiet months, raising concerns about the province’s ability to contain the outbreak.

according to publicly available dataThere have been 27 new cases confirmed this week, including 16 on Monday, six on Tuesday and five on Thursday.

The last time the number of weekly cases was this high was in August.

There are now active cases in the South, North and Central health regions and a total of 2,041 cases have been reported since the outbreak began in March.

“I am very concerned that we are seeing the beginning of a new surge in measles cases in the province,” said Dr. Karina Topp, an infectious diseases physician at Stollery Children’s Hospital.

“To me that suggests … there are likely some cases that have come into communities with lower vaccination rates that have the potential to really escalate.”

There are currently 15 so-called “active cases” in the province. Those are cases that are considered communicable.

According to Topp, who described the increase as “alarming”, there are likely many more people in the community who have not yet been diagnosed who could spread the highly contagious disease.

“We know we’re not catching all the cases…this is really the tip of the iceberg.”

Topp, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta, expects to see a further increase in the coming days.

“It’s certainly a setback in efforts to end the outbreak,” he said.

“I would say that the risk that this could flare up in communities that have escaped our measles outbreaks so far is very high.”

The government says, increase it a little

In a statement, the Alberta government said the increase is not surprising given the ongoing measles activity in the province.

“Although there has been a slight increase over the past few days, most new cases reflect transmission within a small number of households rather than widespread community transmission,” said Madison McKee, press secretary. Ministry of Primary and Preventive Health Services.

There are currently no Albertans hospitalized due to measles.

“Public health officials continue to implement targeted vaccination campaigns, expand clinic hours and conduct province-wide outreach to increase vaccinations and limit further spread,” said the statement shared with CBC News on Wednesday.

McKee said transmission has occurred primarily in some small communities with low vaccination rates.

“While some areas – particularly in the South – continue to have low vaccination coverage, this reflects a broader national challenge. Public health officials are taking proactive steps to limit further spread and ensure Albertans have timely, accurate information to protect themselves and their families.”

According to the ministry, the number of vaccines administered in the province between mid-March and early January increased by 39 per cent compared to the same period last year.

One sighting in the south area According to McKee, there was a 72 percent increase, while the Northern Territory saw a 65 percent increase.

The risk of measles remains

“Unfortunately, measles is not gone,” said Craig Jayne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary. “It’s a risk.”

He said the increase was not entirely unexpected, as people were traveling and gathering during the holidays.

What is surprising, according to Jayne, is that there are active cases in three health regions, which suggests that there may be many different exposure events.

He said the number of cases is well below last year’s peak.

And while health officials have increased vaccination rates, they said they are still not high enough for herd immunity.

“We don’t want to create publicity or panic about this. But this is how things started in early 2025, where most of the early cases were in direct contact with families or small social groups,” Jane said.

“It takes a combination of the wrong conditions at the wrong time for that virus to spread more widely.”

Measles can cause serious complications including pneumonia, brain swelling, premature delivery, and even death.

There have been 164 hospitalizations due to the virus since Alberta’s outbreak began, including 16 in the ICU. been there too a death.

Provincial data shows the majority of cases are among people who have not been vaccinated.