Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report – Week 11: March 8 to March 14, 2020

Key points:

  • In Canada, no new cases of measles or rubella were reported in week 11, 2020.
  • Currently, there is one activeFootnote 1 case of measles and no active casesFootnote 1 of rubella in Canada.
  • One case of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2020.
  • Canadians travelling outside of Canada are encouraged to consult the travel health notices for information on measles and rubella outbreaks occurring in other countries.

On this page

Epidemiological summary:

During epidemiological week 11, 2020, no new cases of measles or rubella were reported in CanadaFootnote 2. To date in 2020, one case of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported. The last case of rubella was reported in December 2019. The last case of congenital rubella syndrome/infection was reported in September 2018.

Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=1), rubella (n=0), and congenital rubella syndrome/infection (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 March 14, 2020.
Figure1
Figure 1 - Text Equivalent
Figure 1: Number of cases measles (n=1), rubella (n=0) and congenital rubella syndrome/infection (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 March 14, 2020.
Epidemiological Week of Rash Onset, 2020 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 0 0 0
3 0 0 0
4 0 0 0
5 1 0 0
6 0 0 0
7 0 0 0
8 0 0 0
9 0 0 0
10 0 0 0
11 0 0 0
Cases (year-to-date) 1 0 0

Geographic distribution

Figure 2: Distribution of active Footnote *, confirmed measles cases by health region.
Figure 2
Footnote *

Active measles cases are those in which the onset date of the case falls within 42 days of the end date of the epidemiological week of the reportFootnote 4. Active rubella cases are those in which the onset date of the case falls within 46 days of the end date of the epidemiological week of the reportFootnote 5.

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Figure 2 - Text Equivalent
Figure 2: Distribution of activeFootnote *, 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 0
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 1
North Zone 0
British Columbia 0
Yukon 0
Northwest Territories 0
Nunavut 0

Laboratory summary

Measles

In 2020, one case of measles has been genotyped and the genotype was D8 (n=1).

Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2020 (n=1) by week Footnote of rash onset.
Figure3
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 2020 is January 6. However, for the purposes of this report, the genotype data is presented in accordance with PAHO reporting weeks with week 1 of 2020 beginning on December 29, 2019.

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Figure 3 - Text Equivalent
Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2020 (n=1) by week Footnote 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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
Total 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

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.

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

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Active measles cases are those in which the onset date of the case falls within 42 days of the end date of the epidemiological week of the report. Active rubella cases are those in which the onset date of the case falls within 46 days of the end date of the epidemiological week of the report.

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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.

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Footnote 3

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

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Footnote 4

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Chapter 7: Measles. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt07-measles.html. Page last reviewed: May 13, 2019.

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Footnote 5

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Chapter 14: Rubella. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt14-rubella.html. Page last reviewed: May 18, 2018.

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