Health officials are investigating two more suspected measles cases, including one at a high school in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood.
A student at Lord Byng Secondary School has come down with measles symptoms, the Vancouver School Board confirmed Thursday, and vaccinations are being offered to anyone at the school who hasn’t been immunized.
“We understand that appropriate measures are in place to keep all of our students and staff safe during this challenging time,” spokesman Kurt Heinrich said in an email.
A letter is being sent home with the roughly 1,300 students at Lord Byng, Heinrich added.
Vancouver Coastal Health has also confirmed there’s a second patient being monitored for measles. Few other details have been released, but health officials said both suspected cases are linked to the Air China flight that sparked the Metro Vancouver measles scare last month.
Two students from Carver Christian High School in Burnaby tested positive for measles after the plane landed at the Vancouver airpot on March 21. Officials said at least one of them was coughing during the flight home.
Measles has since been confirmed in two more Carver students. Principal Paul Tigchelaar said the four infected students were among a group who went on a humanitarian trip together.
“[The measles] very likely caught in China, with the connections with the kids over there," Tigchelaar said.
An immunization clinic was held at Carver Thursday, and Tigchelaar said staff members are working closely with the Fraser Health Authority to ensure unimmunized students have access to vaccines.
Measles is a serious disease that can cause complications including deafness and brain damage, and kills one in every 3,000 Canadians who catch it, according to officials.
It has an incubation period that ranges from seven to 21 days after exposure, and the disease’s early symptoms resemble those of a common cold.
Anyone who develops later symptoms such as a rash or fever is advised to see a doctor, but urged to call ahead so clinics and offices can prepare for their arrival.
According to the World Health Organization, Canada’s measles rate last year far exceeded that of the United States. Canada recorded about 14 infections per million residents, compared to two cases per million in the U.S.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Tom Popyk
