In a follow-up on the measles outbreak in Vancouver, BC, British Columbia health officials report seventeen confirmed cases of measles have been reported in 2019 amongst BC residents as of Mar. 7.
Two cases with rash onset in January and one case in February, respectively, were adults who acquired measles during travel to the Philippines, where a large measles outbreak is ongoing. A separate case with no out-of-country travel occurred in February. While this case had no clear epidemiologic links to earlier BC cases, the measles virus genotype is B3, as for the earlier cases imported from the Philippines.
Measles (Tigdas) epidemic in the Philippines: 16K cases in first two months of 2019
In a separate series of events beginning in late January, three school-age children who acquired measles infection while traveling in Vietnam returned to Vancouver. They developed symptoms immediately prior to travel or upon return, and resulted in transmission to 5 other students. An additional 5 cases have been identified among those exposed in medical settings or households. The measles virus genotype associated with this outbreak is D8.
None have been linked to the measles outbreak in Washington State, with the epicentre in Clark County, which began January 1, 2019.
Vancouver, WA measles outbreak reaches 70 cases
From 2013 through 2017, there were less than five confirmed cases of measles annually in BC. In 2018, nine cases of measles were reported; three of these cases were out of country residents visiting BC.
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