Nykole King
Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer says the province is now part of an “unprecedented” continental measles outbreak and that more cases are expected to be confirmed daily.
As of Thursday morning, Saskatchewan had seen a total of 27 cases so far in 2025, 15 of which were confirmed over the past week, said Dr. Saqib Shahab, who spoke about the situation during a press conference at the T.C. Douglas Building in Regina.
He noted that only one of the 27 people was vaccinated.
“We are now, in Saskatchewan, part of the unprecedented North American outbreak,” explained Shahab. “The outbreak is impacting unvaccinated people and mostly being transmitted to household contacts … in specific communities in Alberta, Ontario, Mexico and the U.S., and now increasingly within Saskatchewan.”
‘We should not be seeing measles in 2025’
People in the province started testing positive for the highly contagious airborne virus on March 14. While two of the earlier instances were linked to international travel, the newest cases seem to have spread locally, Shahab said.
“We should not be seeing measles in 2025,” he added. “We all have a role in keeping our communities and schools and daycares safe, and to protect persons at higher risk due to illness.”
Shahab added that the “social contract” of immunizing ourselves to protect others has been “broken,” likely allowing this spread to continue for weeks or months.
The youngest person to be infected in 2025 was five months old, Shahab said, adding that the vast majority of cases have been in school-age children and teens, although some have been in older adults. Two people have been hospitalized, Shahab said.
He reiterated that vaccination is considered the best defence against the infection. Children can get the first immunization dose at 12 months and the second dose at 18 months.
Signs and symptoms
Measles is able to remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected individual has left the room, according to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA). The virus can also spread by touching a contaminated surface and then touching the nose, eyes or mouth.
The signs and symptoms of measles include fever, coughing, runny nose, red eyes, fatigue, irritability and small white spots inside the mouth and throat. A red blotchy rash develops on the face and spreads down the body about three to seven days after symptoms begin, lasting up to seven days.
Shahab said an average of one-in-five positive measles cases could result in health complications. That includes ear infections, pneumonia, brain infections or even death, according to information from the SHA.
Masks are “generally not recommended” for those who have been vaccinated against measles, Shahab said.
However, he noted that immunocompromised people should talk to their health-care provider about whether to take additional precautions, such as “unfortunately, wearing a mask in crowded spaces, especially in parts of the province where there is this high transmission.”
nyking@postmedia.com
