Health officials confirm another case of measles in Metro Vancouver
Health officials have confirmed a second case of measles in Metro Vancouver.
According to a statement from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), this case was identified in a resident who lives in the health authority and travelled to Southeast Asia.
This individual was in the same party as the first case, who has since been confirmed to be a resident in the Fraser Health region.
VCH advises that members of the public may have been exposed to the measles virus if they were travelling on Air Canada Flight 66, which arrived at Vancouver International Airport on Feb. 11, 2025.
The warning also applies to anyone who spent time in the international arrivals area of the airport, including the customers and baggage area, on Feb. 11 from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
The health authority confirmed that there were no other public exposures, and officials are working to contact individuals who may have been exposed to the virus.
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Measles is a highly infectious disease that is spread via airborne transmission. It poses serious health risks, including encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. VCH adds that one out of 3,000 people with measles could die from complications.
Measles is a vaccine-preventable virus and VCH states that one-dose efficacy is 85 to 95 per cent and two-dose efficacy approaches 100 per cent.
Those at risk of the virus are people who have not had two doses of the measles vaccine or those who have never had the measles disease. The health authority advises individuals who aren’t fully protected to monitor for symptoms, which may include dry cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed a few days later by a rash that starts at the hairline and spreads rapidly down to the rest of the body. Symptoms can develop up to three weeks after being exposed.
“There have been no other recent cases in B.C. and no local transmission, however, there has been a recent increase in measles activity in the U.S., in other parts of Canada and around the world,” said VCH.
It noted that if someone develops symptoms, they should contact their health care provider before visiting so precautions can be implemented to prevent the virus from spreading.