Microbiologist concerned as measles virus begins to return to Canada

It’s a disease that not many think about anymore, but measles has started to return to Canada.

Only one case of the measles has been confirmed in Saskatchewan since the start of 2024, but a number of other cases have been confirmed in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

Dr. Joseph Blondeau, head of clinical microbiology at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital, joined Evan Bray on Wednesday to discuss the measles virus. He said it’s concerning to see.

“Measles is a respiratory virus. It’s a member of the paramyxoviruses,” said Blondeau. “It’s spread like other respiratory viruses.”

Most respiratory viruses are spread through sneezes and coughs, which carry the virus in droplets from the infected person to others.

Some may wonder if they need to get another measles vaccine. If they were previously immunized, Blondeau said that shouldn’t be necessary.

“We’re generally considered to be immune for life when we’ve had vaccinations,” explained Blondeau.

One dose of a measles vaccine is anywhere from 85 to 95 per cent effective, the microbiologist explained, and a second dose is considered 100 per cent effective.

But Blondeau said he believes there is a lot of complacency when it comes to getting immunized. Because of that, he said the recent resurgence of measles cases should not be ignored.

“There’s a legitimate concern, because about one in five patients that get measles may be hospitalized,” said Blondeau. “Somewhere between one to three patients out of every 1,000 patients that get measles could end up dying.”

Measles is a highly contagious virus, even more so than COVID-19. While a COVID patient is likely to infect one to three other people, Blondeau said that number gets a lot higher with measles.

“One infected individual would be expected to infect somewhere between 12 and 18 individuals,” Blondeau explained.

– With files from The Canadian Press