Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report – Week 21: May 22 to May 28, 2022

Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada
Date published: 2022-06-09

Key points:

In Canada, one new case of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in week 21, 2022.
Currently, there are two active^{Footnote 1} cases of measles and no active^{Footnote 1} cases of rubella in Canada.
Three (3) cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2022.
Canadians travelling outside of Canada are encouraged to consult the travel health notices for information on measles and rubella outbreaks occurring in other countries.

Epidemiological Summary:

During epidemiological week 21, 2022, one new case of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in Canada^{Footnote 2}. The case was reported by the province of Quebec and had a history of travel to Cameroon. Rash onset occurred in epidemiological week 19. This case is not linked to the case reported in epidemiological week 19 who travelled to Cameroon and whose rash onset occurred in epidemiological week 17. To date in 2022, three confirmed cases 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=3)^{Footnote 3}, rubella (n=0), and congenital rubella syndrome/infection (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 May 28, 2022.

Figure 1 - Text description

Epidemiological Week of Rash Onset, 2022	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	0	0	0
6	0	0	0
7	0	0	0
8	0	0	0
9	0	0	0
10	1	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	1	0	0
18	0	0	0
19	1	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
Cases (year-to-date)	3	0	0

Geographic Distribution

There are two active^{Footnote *} cases of measles and no active^{Footnote *} cases of rubella reported in Canada.

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

Figure 2 - Text description

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	1
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	0
Yukon	0
Northwest Territories	0
Nunavut	0

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 report ^{Footnote 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 report ^{Footnote 5}.

Return to footnote * referrer

Laboratory Summary

Measles

In 2022, one case of measles has been genotyped.

The case reported by the province of Ontario with rash onset occurring in epidemiological week 10 was genotype B3, which is endemic in Pakistan.

**Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2022 (n=1) by week^{Footnote †} of rash onset.**

Figure 3 - Text description

Epi week	B3	Total
1	0	0
2	0	0
3	0	0
4	0	0
5	0	0
6	0	0
7	0	0
8	0	0
9	0	0
10	1	1
11	0	0
12	0	0
13	0	0
14	0	0
15	0	0
16	0	0
17	0	0
18	0	0
19	0	0
20	0	0
21	0	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	0	0
35	0	0
36	0	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
Total	1	1

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 2022 is January 3. However, for the purposes of this report, the genotype data is presented in accordance with PAHO reporting weeks with week 1 of 2022 beginning on January 2, 2022.

Return to footnote † referrer

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.

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/infection cases.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

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.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

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.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

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Date modified:: 2022-06-23

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