Student Health Services at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton announced a confirmed measles case in the university community. This is the first confirmed measles case in the eastern Canadian province since 2013.
The school listed potential locations of exposure in a notice to staff and students:
- March 22: Head Hall C10, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- March 22: MacLaggan Hall, bottom floor, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- March 22: UNB Financial Services in Physics Building at 8 Bailey Dr., ground floor, 8:15 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. or 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- March 23: Carleton Hall, bottom, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- March 23: Tilley Hall, 1st floor, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- March 24: Head Hall C10 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- March 24: MacLaggan Hall bottom 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- March 30: Carleton Hall, bottom, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- March 30: Tilley Hall, 1st floor, 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Health officials say the case may be linked to the ongoing measles outbreak in neighboring Nova Scotia.
Measles, also called rubeola, is a very contagious viral infection. Measles spreads when a person infected with measles virus breathes, coughs, or sneezes. The virus can still be on surfaces and in the air up to 2 hours after that person is gone from a room. Measles still spreads in some parts of the world.
It usually takes 10 to 14 days for someone who has caught measles to start showing symptoms.
Measles usually begins with a high fever, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes, followed by a rash starting behind the ears and spreading to the body a few days later. One in three people with measles will develop complications, such as ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea or rarely inflammation of the brain.
Most people are protected from measles infection from two doses of vaccine. There is publicly-funded vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, and rubella. Adults born in 1970 or later can receive free measles vaccine (MMR) if they have not already had two doses. Adults born before 1970 are considered immune to measles.
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