How worried should Sask. people be about measles?

When measles cases started resurfacing this year, pediatrician Ayishi Kurji had to brush up on her reading, because Canada had declared the contagious disease eliminated back in 1998.

"I've never seen measles because it's not something that's been around," she said in the latest episode of CBC's This is Saskatchewan podcast. "Most of the time it's a viral infection that people get over pretty quick, but it can have really devastating consequences and that's why it's so scary."

Health experts say vaccination rates of 95 per cent would constitute good herd immunity, but in some geographic areas, vaccination rates could be as low as 40 or 50 per cent.

On top of that, half a dozen cases of measles have cropped up recently in Saskatchewan.

Statistics show one in four or five people who get measles will end up hospitalized, while one in a thousand could face encephalitis or inflammation around the brain, Kurji said, noting other long-term consequences include the risk of deafness or blindness.

When calculating how contagious a disease is, experts use an R0 value, which is the number of people that one infected person will pass on a virus to, on average. For example, one person who got COVID would infect four to six other people on average. With measles, that number rises to 12 to 18 people.

"There's some statistics that say that 90 per cent of people who are exposed to it, if you're not vaccinated, are going to get results," Kurji said.

Saskatchewan's Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab stresses that for those that are unvaccinated, measles is the most highly contagious disease that exists. He also noted that measles has only shown up in 0.1 per cent of people who are fully protected with vaccines.

"If they do happen [in vaccinated people], it's a mild rash and it really doesn't transmit further," he said.

Shahab said the main concern from a public health standpoint is ensuring everyone is protected by making sure their vaccinations are up-to-date and complete. Adults born between 1970 and 1996 may have only received one vaccination and are encouraged to get a second booster shot at a public health clinic.

"If you're fully vaccinated, you should not be concerned," Shahab said.

This story is from the This is Saskatchewan podcast — your connection to the stories Saskatchewan is talking about. Every week, we cover local issues that matter. Hear the voices that are creating change, shaping policy and fuelling creativity in Saskatchewan.