Babies exposed to measles getting preventive treatment every week in Manitoba
CBC
An average of one baby a week in Manitoba's Southern Health region is being given a preventive treatment after a potential measles exposure, which a health official says is a sign of the disease's widespread transmission and the vulnerability of babies too young to be vaccinated.
Dr. Davinder Singh, a medical officer of health with Southern Health, said babies ineligible for vaccination are being provided with immune globulin. The injection into a muscle or through a vein is only done if it's within six days of an exposure to the highly contagious disease.
"At least every week, we get informed about a family where this type of situation has occurred," said Singh, who represents the health region with most of Manitoba's measles cases.
In most cases, a contact tracer informs the family the treatment, referred to as post-exposure prophylaxis, is recommended.
The parents bringing their child for treatment are worried, Singh said, because unvaccinated babies have a high risk of severe outcomes, including hospitalization and pneumonia.
"For some of them, there may have been nothing that they could have done differently to have prevented the exposure," he said.
"Everyone in the family might have been immunized, but you can't give a measles vaccine to an infant under the age of six months."
Singh recalled an "unusual week" earlier this year where Southern Health reported four babies receiving the preventive treatment.
He's also aware of post-exposure prophylaxis being provided elsewhere in Manitoba. The province said it couldn't say how many people have received this type of treatment.
Immune globulin is a fast-acting option because the injection contains antibodies taken from human blood that immediately works to neutralize the virus. It greatly reduces the chance of infection.
The province limits the vaccine to babies who are at least one year old, but it has expanded eligibility in some regions. Babies who are at least six months old in areas with significant measles spread — the Southern Health, Interlake-Eastern and Prairie Mountain health regions — are eligible.
Babies who are regularly taken to those areas, or have close contacts there, are also eligible.
The provincial government says 30 babies under the age of one have contracted measles since the outbreak started more than a year ago.
Manitoba has reported 170 confirmed and 28 probable cases of measles across all age groups in February, more than half the measles cases the province counted in 2025.
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An average of one baby a week in Manitoba's Southern Health region is being given a preventive treatment after a potential measles exposure, which a health official says is a sign of the disease's widespread transmission and the vulnerability of babies too young to be vaccinated.
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