Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report - Week 8, 2019: February 17 to February 23, 2019

Key Points

In Canada, eleven new cases of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in week 8, 2019.
Currently, there are twelve active^{Footnote 1} cases of measles in Canada.
Nineteen (19) cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2019. These cases were reported by Québec, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories.
Globally, there are large measles outbreaks which have affected a large number of countries. Canadians travelling outside of Canada are invited to consult the travel health notices for more information.

Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Date published: 2019-03-08

Epidemiological summary

During epidemiological week 8, 2019 eleven new laboratory-confirmed cases of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in Canada^{Footnote 2}. Nine cases were reported by the province of British Columbia: seven cases were related to the outbreak among the French language schools; one case was exposed in Canada to an unknown source; and one case was in a traveller returning from the Philippines. One case was reported by the Northwest Territories in a traveller returning from the Philippines. The last case was reported by the province of Québec and may have been exposed in Canada to an unknown source or while travelling to France.

To date in 2019, nineteen cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported. The last case of rubella was reported in 2016 and the last case of congenital rubella syndrome/infection was reported in September 2018.

Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=19), rubella (n=0), and congenital rubella syndrome (n=0)^{Footnote 3} by week of rash onset, as reported to the Canadian Measles/Rubella Surveillance System (CMRSS) and Measles and Rubella Surveillance System (MARS), for the period ending February 23, 2019.

Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=19), rubella (n=0), and congenital rubella syndrome (n=0) by week of rash onset, as reported to the Canadian Measles/Rubella Surveillance System (CMRSS) and Measles and Rubella Surveillance System (MARS), for the period ending February 23, 2019.
Epidemiological Week of Rash Onset, 2019	Number of confirmed measles cases reported	Number of confirmed rubella cases reported	Number of confirmed congenital rubella syndrome/infection cases reported
1	0	0	0
2	1	0	0
3	0	0	0
4	1	0	0
5	5	0	0
6	3	0	0
7	3	0	0
8	6	0	0
9	0	0	0
10	0	0	0
11	0	0	0
12	0	0	0
13	0	0	0
14	0	0	0
15	0	0	0
16	0	0	0
17	0	0	0
18	0	0	0
19	0	0	0
20	0	0	0
21	0	0	0
22	0	0	0
23	0	0	0
24	0	0	0
25	0	0	0
26	0	0	0
27	0	0	0
28	0	0	0
29	0	0	0
30	0	0	0
31	0	0	0
32	0	0	0
33	0	0	0
34	0	0	0
35	0	0	0
36	0	0	0
37	0	0	0
38	0	0	0
39	0	0	0
40	0	0	0
41	0	0	0
42	0	0	0
43	0	0	0
44	0	0	0
45	0	0	0
46	0	0	0
47	0	0	0
48	0	0	0
49	0	0	0
50	0	0	0
51	0	0	0
52	0	0	0
Missing Rash Onset	0	0	0
Cases (year-to-date)	19	0	0

Geographic distribution

There are currently twelve active^{Footnote *} cases of measles reported in Canada.

Figure 2: Distribution of active ^{Figure 2 Table - Footnote *} confirmed measles cases by health region
Health Region	Measles Active Cases
Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority	0
Central Regional Integrated Health Authority	0
Western Regional Integrated Health Authority	0
Labrador-Grenfell Regional Integrated Health Authority	0
Prince Edward Island	0
South Shore District Health Authority	0
South West Nova District Health Authority	0
Annapolis Valley District Health Authority	0
Colchester East Hants Health Authority	0
Cumberland Health Authority	0
Pictou County Health Authority	0
Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority	0
Cape Breton District Health Authority	0
Capital District Health Authority	0
Zone 1 (NB)	0
Zone 2 (NB)	0
Zone 3 (NB)	0
Zone 4 (NB)	0
Zone 5 (NB)	0
Zone 6 (NB)	0
Zone 7 (NB)	0
Québec et Chaudières-Appalaches	0
Centre-du-Québec	0
Montréal et Laval	1
Ouest-du-Québec	0
Montérégie	0
Nord-Est	0
Ontario Central East	0
Ontario Central West	0
Ontario Eastern	0
Ontario North East	0
Ontario North West	0
Ontario South West	0
City of Toronto Health Unit	0
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority	0
Prairie Mountain Health	0
Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority	0
Northern Regional Health Authority	0
Southern Health	0
Saskatchewan South	0
Saskatchewan Central	0
Saskatchewan North	0
South Zone	0
Calgary Zone	0
Central Zone	0
Edmonton Zone	0
North Zone	0
British Columbia	10
Yukon	0
Northwest Territories	1
Nunavut	0

Laboratory summary

Measles

In 2019, nine cases of measles have been genotyped and the genotypes were B3 (n=3) and D8 (n=6).

In week 8, four measles cases were genotyped. Three cases from British Columbia (with rash onsets in epidemiological weeks 4, 6 and 7) were genotype D8, all identical to the WHO named strain MVs/Gir Somnath.IND/42.16/ (GenBank accession number KY120864). The case reported from the province of Quebec with rash onset in epidemiological week 7 was genotype B3.

**Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2019 (n=9) by week† of rash onset.**

**Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2019 (n=9) by week^{Figure 3 - Note †} of rash onset.**
Epi week	B3	B3 - Harare	D4	D8	D8 - Taunton	D9	H1	Total
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
5	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	3
6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2
7	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
46	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
48	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
49	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
51	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	3	0	0	6	0	0	0	9
Footnote † Epidemiological weeks for laboratory specimens submitted to the National Microbiology Laboratory are assigned and reported in accordance with WHO guidelines (WHO.WER.2012;9(87):73) with week 1 beginning on the first Monday of the year, which for 2019 is January 7. However, for the purposes of this report, the genotype data is presented in accordance with PAHO reporting weeks with week 1 of 2019 beginning on December 30, 2018). Return to footnote † referrer

The current global distribution of measles genotypes can be found on the WHO Measles Surveillance website.

For information regarding the interpretation and use of measles genotyping (including a discussion of genotypes and named strains), refer to Hiebert J and Severini A. Canada Communicable Disease Report. 2014; 40-12: 257-260.

Footnote 1

Active cases or outbreaks are those in which the onset date of the most recent case/outbreak-associated case falls within 32 days of the issue date of this report.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Only cases with rash onset up to the indicated end date are included in this report. Any additional cases will be described in future reports.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Epidemiological week of birth is used for congenital rubella syndrome cases.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Public Health Agency of Canada. Guidelines for the prevention and control of measles outbreaks in Canada. Canadian Communicable Disease Report. 2013. Vol. 39: Definitions: conclusion of an outbreak (p. 5).

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Page details

Date modified:: 2019-03-08

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