Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report - Week 12, 2019: March 17 to March 23, 2019

Key Points

  • In Canada, one new case of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in week 12, 2019.
  • Currently, there are three activeFootnote 1 cases of measles in Canada.
  • Twenty-eight (28) cases of measles and no cases of rubella have been reported in Canada in 2019. These cases were reported by Québec, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Alberta.
  • 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.

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Epidemiological summary

During epidemiological week 12, 2019 one new laboratory-confirmed case of measles and no new cases of rubella were reported in CanadaFootnote 2. The case was reported by the province of British Columbia and is linked to an earlier case who acquired measles during travel to Oregon. The epidemiological week of rash onset was week 12.

To date in 2019, twenty-eight 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=28), 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 March 23, 2019.

figure 1

Figure 1 - Text equivalent
Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=28), 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 March 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 4 0 0
10 4 0 0
11 0 0 0
12 1 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) 28 0 0

Geographic distribution

There are currently three activeFootnote * cases of measles reported in Canada.

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

figure 2

Figure 2 - Text equivalent
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 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 1
Central Zone 0
Edmonton Zone 0
North Zone 0
British Columbia 2
Yukon 0
Northwest Territories 0
Nunavut 0
Footnote *

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 reportFootnote 4.

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Footnote *

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 reportFootnote 4.

Return to first footnote * referrer

Laboratory summary

Measles

In 2019, twenty-three (23) cases of measles have been genotyped and the genotypes were B3 (n=8) and D8 (n=15).

In week 12, two measles cases were genotyped. Both cases were genotype D8, identical to the WHO named strain MVs/Gir Somnath.IND/42.16/ (GenBank accession number KY120864). One case was reported by British Columbia, with rash onset in epidemiological week 11 and had travel history to Vietnam. The second case was acquired during travel to Cambodia/Thailand and was reported by Ontario with rash onset in week 9. This measles genotype D8 strain is circulating in many countries globally.

Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2019 (n=23) by week† of rash onset.

figure 3

Figure 3 - Text equivalent
Figure 3: Distribution of measles genotypes detected in 2019 (n=23) by weekFigure 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 2 0 0 0 3
8 3 0 0 3 0 0 0 6
9 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 4
10 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2
11 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1
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 8 0 0 15 0 0 0 23
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.

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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

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

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