London-area parents advised to seek measles shots for kids

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As measles cases continue to rise in regions surrounding London, the Middlesex-London Health Unit is urging parents to seek early vaccination for children under the age of five.

The risk of measles in Middlesex County and London is low, the health unit said Thursday, but as “travel for work, sports and family visits throughout Southwestern Ontario is common” the following is recommended:

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Infants (six to 11 months): should receive one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two additional doses are required after children turn one.

Children (one to four years): children who have received their first dose should receive a second dose as soon as possible. The second dose must be a minimum of four weeks after the first dose.

Adults born on or after 1970: a second dose of MMR vaccine is recommended.

The health unit’s new guidance differs from Ontario’s routine immunization schedule that recommends children receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine at the age of one and a dose of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox) (MMRV) vaccine between the ages of four and six.

“The health unit continues to promote vaccination as the best source of protection against the measles virus,” Joanne Kearon, associate medical officer of health for Middlesex-London, said in an email statement.

“This is why we are now recommending an accelerated vaccine schedule, which includes a dose of measles-containing vaccine for those six to 12 months of age.”

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The health unit advises parents seeking earlier doses of measles vaccine to speak to their regular health-care provider.

The move comes as the health unit reported 15 new cases of the highly infectious disease since April 30, bringing the total case count to 43 since reporting its first case on March 10.

The majority of measles cases in London and Middlesex County are “related to closed clusters within unvaccinated communities,” Kearon said.

Southwestern Public Health – which serves Oxford and Elgin counties, Woodstock and St. Thomas and is the epicentre of the current measles outbreak in Ontario – reported a significant rise in cases since May 1.

The health unit reported 73 new cases since May 1 as of Thursday, its largest seven-day surge since it began reporting weekly case counts on Feb. 27.

In a virtual news conference on Thursday, Ninh Tran, medical officer of health for Southwestern, said the health unit has reported 524 cases since the outbreak began in October 2024.

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“Cases continue to mostly affect unvaccinated, school-age children, which really underscores how effective this vaccine is,” Tran said.

Southwestern Public Health’s 524 measles cases account for about 35 per cent of the province’s 1,440 cases reported by Public Health Ontario as of May 6.

Southwestern Public Health’s rate of cases per 100,000 people is 209.3 while the overall rate in Ontario is 9.1 cases per 100,000 people, Public Health Ontario say in its weekly measles report.

After Southwestern, Grand Erie (Brantford, Brant, Norfolk and Haldimand counties), Huron Perth and Chatham-Kent have the highest number of measles cases in the province.

In an interview Monday with The Free Press, Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, stressed the importance of vaccination given the highly infectious nature and transmissibility of the disease.

“I think it’s because of the hard work that public health is doing that . . . we’re able to mitigate some of the spread,” Moore said. “But nothing works better than two doses of the very safe and effective vaccine.”

Measles symptoms include a red rash, fever, cough, runny nose, upper respiratory symptoms, red eyes and fatigue. Serious complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, blindness and death are possible.

bwilliams@postmedia.com

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