Photo courtesy of CBC.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is warning travellers after a person infected with measles reportedly travelled through Vancouver International Airport twice in recent weeks.
The individual was reportedly at an infectious stage of the disease when they boarded Air Canada flight 004 from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Vancouver on July 30. The individual caught a connecting Air Canada Jazz flight #8125 that same day to Portland.
The person then left Portland on Aug. 6 on Alaskan Airline flight #2536 arriving in Vancouver at 10:55 a.m., where they boarded Norwegian Cruise Lines at 4 p.m. heading for Seward, Alaska.
Measles is a highly infectious disease which is transmitted through the air. The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is concerned that passengers, crew, and other travellers may have come into contact with this individual and are asking those that may have, to check their immunization status.
The majority of travellers may be immune, but infants less than one-year-old, or those who were never immunized remain at risk.
The Centre for Disease Control is suggesting that if people think they’ve been infected to call their doctor and arrange an appointment that would prevent infecting others in the waiting room.
Symptoms of measles include a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and a rash that starts centrally including on the face, spreading to the limbs and lasts at least three days.
Infected individuals are likely to develop symptoms within 7 to 21 days of being exposed, which means if a traveller has been infected with measles from this event, symptoms would develop by Aug. 27.
CHEK News
