Up to 8 infants need protective medication after potential measles exposure, CPHO says

The province's Chief Public Health Office has identified between four and eight infants who require medication to protect them against measles.

On Thursday, the office confirmed two new, unrelated cases of measles on P.E.I., both linked to many public exposure sites.

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison said Friday that a small number of infants who will need intravenous immunoglobulin, or intramuscular immunoglobulin on some individuals, were identified overnight Thursday. The immunoglobulin can prevent or reduce the severity of an infection.

"We will try to make sure we get that arranged for them, because we only have a certain number of days after the exposure in order to do that," Morrison told CBC's Island Morning.

While most people on P.E.I. are protected, Morrison said children under one year old are at high risk because they have not yet received the measles vaccine. It's part of the province's childhood vaccine program, administered at 12 months and again at 18 months.

Health officials have identified the following public exposure sites: 

Health officials ask that people reach out to the CPHO if they and/or a dependent were on the June 25 flights or at one of the exposure locations during the times specified, and any of the following apply: 

Islanders can reach the Chief Public Health Office by emailing outbreak@ihis.org or calling 1-800-958-6400 to arrange for post-exposure treatment. People are asked to provide their full name, date of birth, contact information and location at which they were exposed. 

For these high-risk individuals that may have potentially been exposed, Morrison said they need to reach out as soon as possible as there's only a certain window to offer immunoglobulin if they would be candidates.

Anyone who is not immune to the disease from a past case or vaccine, and has been at one of the identified exposure locations, must stay away from public settings during the contagious stage, the CPHO said. The exclusion period begins five days after the last known exposure to measles and ends 16 days after the start of the exclusion period.

Public settings include schools, childcare facilities, post-secondary institutions, workplaces and any other public or group environment. 

The measles vaccine is part of the province's childhood vaccine program, administered at 12 months and again at 18 months.

The CPHO's current recommendations for vaccination are as follows:

Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, sore eyes and a red rash that begins on the head and spreads down to the trunk and limbs. Serious complications can occur, such as blindness, viral meningitis or pneumonia — or even death, as was the case recently for two unvaccinated children in Texas.