SWIFT CURRENT — The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) is notifying the public of an exposure risk to the measles virus from one confirmed case of measles in Swift Current. Individuals who were at any of the following locations during these time periods should monitor themselves for measles symptoms:
- Cypress Regional Hospital, 2004 Saskatchewan Drive in Swift Current on:
- Friday, March 7
- Saturday, March 8
- Sunday, March 9
- Monday, March 10
- E.I. Wood Building (the entrance, elevator and fourth floor), 350 Cheadle Street West in Swift Current, on:
- Thursday, March 6 from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Symptoms of measles include:
- fever,
- cough,
- runny nose,
- red eyes,
- fatigue,
- irritability (feeling cranky or in a bad mood),
- small, white spots (known as Koplik spots) inside the mouth and throat, and
- red blotchy rash, which develops on the face and spreads down the body about three to seven days after symptoms begin and can last four to seven days.
What should you do if you have potentially been exposed?
Due to the highly contagious nature of measles, if you exhibit any of the above symptoms AND were at the above location during the identified times, please call HealthLine811 for symptom assessment and care advice, or call your physician or nurse practitioner and identify to them that you may have been exposed to measles. If you are in medical distress, present to emergency or call 911, and identify that you may have been exposed to measles.
Measles can be prevented by vaccination. The SHA advises that the measles vaccine is safe, effective and free. With two doses, measles vaccination is almost 100 per cent effective. Please review your immunizations in your MySaskHealthRecord or discuss with your health practitioner to ensure all you and your family’s immunizations are up to date.
Measles is a highly contagious. It can spread very easily by breathing contaminated air after an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by touching a contaminated surface such as a doorknob or a shopping cart. If individuals breathe the contaminated air or touch a contaminated surface, then touch their nose, eyes or mouth, they can become infected. The virus can live up to two hours in the air or on surfaces in a space where a person coughed or sneezed. It can spread to others from four days before a rash appears until four days after a rash develops. Through this period, a person needs to stay in strict isolation to avoid spreading the infection to others.
