Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report - Week 51, 2017: December 17 to December 23, 2017

Key Points

  • In Canada, no new cases of measles or rubella were reported in week 51, 2017. 
  • A total of 45 cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2017.
  • Globally, there are large measles outbreaks reported in Europe which have affected several countries. Canadians travelling to Europe are invited to consult the travel health notice for more information.

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Epidemiological summary:

During epidemiological week 51, 2017 no new cases of measles or rubella were reported in CanadaFootnote 1. It has been 14 epidemiologic weeks since the last measles case was reported and 96 epidemiological weeks since the last rubella case was reported.

To date in 2017, 45 cases of measles have been reported in Canada, with eight unique importation events.  Three importation events have resulted in transmission in Canada.

FIGURE 1: Number of cases of measles (n=45) and rubella (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 December 23, 2017.  

Figure 1 - Long Description
Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=45) and rubella (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 December 23, 2017.
Epidemiological Week of Rash Onset, 2017 Number of confirmed measles cases reported Number of confirmed rubella cases reported
1 0 0
2 0 0
3 0 0
4 1 0
5 0 0
6 2 0
7 1 0
8 4 0
9 1 0
10 0 0
11 1 0
12 8 0
13 12 0
14 1 0
15 3 0
16 3 0
17 1 0
18 2 0
19 0 0
20 1 0
21 2 0
22 0 0
23 0 0
24 0 0
25 0 0
26 0 0
27 0 0
28 0 0
29 0 0
30 0 0
31 0 0
32 0 0
33 0 0
34 1 0
35 0 0
36 1 0
37 0 0
38 0 0
39 0 0
40 0 0
41 0 0
42 0 0
43 0 0
44 0 0
45 0 0
46 0 0
47 0 0
48 0 0
49 0 0
50 0 0
51 0 0
52 0 0
Missing Rash Onset 0 0
Cases (year-to-date) 45 0

Geographic distribution

There are currently no activeFigure 2 - Footnote * cases of measles reported in Canada (Figure not shown).

There are no reported active cases of rubella in Canada (Figure not shown).

Laboratory summary

Measles

To date in 2017, 37 of the 45 reported measles cases (82%) have had specimens available for genotyping and the genotypes were B3 (n=8) and D8 (n=29) (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2017 (n=37) by weekFigure 3 - Footnote of rash onset.

Figure 2 - Long Description
Figure 2: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2017 (n=37) by weekFigure 3 - 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 0 0 0 0 0
6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
8 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4
9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
12 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 8
13 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 5
14 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3
15 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
16 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4
17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
21 0 0 0 1 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 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
36 1 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 8 0 0 29 0 0 0 37

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 sequence variants), refer to Hiebert J and Severini A. Canada Communicable Disease Report. 2014; 40-12: 257- 260.

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