Southern Alberta's 472 confirmed measles cases 'tip of the iceberg,' health official says

As southern Alberta battles its worst measles outbreak in decades, some doctors are warning the virus is more rampant than the case counts show and they're now struggling to keep up with demand.

As of midday Wednesday,  628 cases had been confirmed in Alberta since the outbreaks began in March.

The last time the province reported more cases was 1987, when 690 cases were confirmed.

"Unfortunately I think, for at least parts of the province, this is no longer controllable," said Craig Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary.

The vast majority of this year's cases — 472 cases as of Wednesday — are in the south zone. 

And the Taber Health Centre emergency department is dealing with high volumes of measles patients, according Dr. Eric Leishman, a family physician working there.

"Almost every single patient that I have swabbed in the ER for suspected measles has tested positive," he said in an email.

"For many of the measles patients we see in the ER, we are often told that they have multiple family members who have also had measles recently. So the number of reported official cases is only a fraction of actual cases that are out there."

A standing measles exposure advisory is now in effect for the entire zone due to widespread risk in southern Alberta. 

"Obviously, we are quite concerned … about those numbers, the number of hospitalizations, and how many more weeks [and] months we may be in this," said Dr. Vivien Suttorp, the lead medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services in the south zone

"It's all hands on deck."

According to Suttorp, teams from across the health system are working together to rein in the outbreaks.

Hospitals, including the Taber facility, are equipped with negative pressure rooms to prevent spread of the airborne virus. 

Plans have also been made for stand-alone assessment and treatment centres, and those will be opened based on need.