At the epicentre of Ontario's measles outbreak, residents reel with concern

Outside the Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) building, St. Thomas resident Cemon Aswathi sighed with relief after booking her 17-month-old son Nathan for the second dose of a vaccine that protects against the measles.  

"We booked it in advance just to be protected more," said Aswathi. "It's difficult since he's very young and it's very easy to catch, so it's a frightening situation when children are suffering."

The region, spanning across St. Thomas and smaller townships and municipalities in Oxford and Elgin counties, has accounted for about 40 per cent of measles infections reported in Ontario over the last six months. Thirty-two new cases were recorded this past week.

The current measles outbreak, which began last fall, has been the largest Canada has seen in more than a decade. Health officials in Ontario said they've now seen 816 people with measles, the majority unvaccinated children.

Public health units overseeing Ontario's southwest region account for roughly 88 per cent of the reported cases since October. A regional breakdown can be found here.

"Majority of the people I know want to get vaccinated because they're afraid and don't want to get [the measles]. People are also afraid to go to the emergency now because it's a huge breakout," said Aswathi. 

In March, Ontario's chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore confirmed in a memo that the current outbreak was traced to a "large gathering with guests from Mennonite communities in New Brunswick last fall," and has since spread across the country. 

The town of Aylmer in Elgin County is home to a large Mennonite community and a local organization is working with the health unit to ensure residents are receiving public health messages. Mennonite Community Services (MCS) of Southern Ontario translates the health unit's ads to the Low German language and airs them on its 24/7 local radio station.  

"People come in for various information at all times, so our doors are always open because we want to make sure the newcomers get the support they need and we can refer them to where they need to go," said executive director Anna Bergen, adding the ads aren't specific to measles. 

"We assume they are getting the message and that allows them to reach out to their choice of health care provider."

There's also worry that people from the Mennonite, Amish and other anabaptist communities will be shunned or discrminated against because of the outbreak. "Our community is diverse and we have different views so nobody wants to be put in one pocket as one or the other. Aylmer is a great town and I'd like for it to be seen as that," Bergen said. 

The outbreak is extremely worrisome for Aylmer resident Jodi Nesbitt, whose daughter has a two-year-old child and is pregnant with her second.

"Every time your child gets a cough, cold or a little tiny spot, you're always thinking 'Is it measles, should we stay home, should we isolate?' There's so many questions for people," said Nesbitt, who works as a nurse at a retirement home in Oxford County's Tillsonburg.

"We're very concerned about it because the two-year-old hasn't been fully immunized yet so hopefully he can get his second one soon because they did open it up."