A vial of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The countrywide outbreak of the disease began last October in New Brunswick and spread to other provinces, the hardest hit among them being Alberta and Ontario.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
A premature baby who contracted measles in utero has died in Alberta, the first death associated with the provincial outbreak that has grown to nearly 2,000 cases.
Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services, said in a statement on Thursday that the baby died shortly after birth. She did not provide details on the mother’s immunization status or when or where the death occurred.
“Since measles cases were first reported in Alberta this spring, I had hoped this moment would not come,” Ms. LaGrange said.
“This is a heartbreaking loss, and no words can capture the pain of losing a child. My sincere condolences go to the family during this profoundly difficult time.”
This is the second known death linked to the countrywide outbreak of the highly infectious disease, which began last October in New Brunswick. It has since spread to numerous provinces. The hardest hit among them is Alberta and Ontario.
How the measles made its way back to Canada
The first death linked to the multijurisdictional outbreak was reported by the Ontario government in June. A baby born prematurely and infected with measles died in Southwestern Ontario. The mother was not vaccinated.
Alberta has the highest per capita rate of measles of the provinces. Data released Thursday show one new case was reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,914 since March.
It is generally recommended that people receive the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine before becoming pregnant because it contains a weakened version of a live virus that could, in theory, infect the fetus.
Without this protection, the mother is vulnerable to contracting measles, which carries a risk of severe complications to parent and baby, such as miscarriage, premature labour, low birth weight and possible death.
Ms. LaGrange said on Thursday that children under 5, people with weakened immune systems and those who are pregnant face the greatest risks from measles. She encouraged anyone planning a pregnancy to get fully vaccinated prior to conception.
Opinion: How a single measles case became 5,000 – and the lessons not learned
The majority of cases in Alberta are among unimmunized children. About 73 per cent of provincial cases are aged 17 and under and 90 per cent are not vaccinated. There is no public data, however, that combines age and vaccine status.
Since March, 152 Albertans have been admitted to hospital in relation to a measles infection, 15 of which required intensive care.
Alberta has come under fire for its measles response.
The Globe and Mail previously reported that the province delayed efforts by public health officials to stifle measles transmission through measures such as visitor restrictions in hospital. There was also refusal in some communities to comply with public health measures.
Sarah Hoffman, Alberta New Democratic Party shadow minister for health, on Thursday, called on the government to do more to protect the public from the deadly disease.
For example, she said the province should bolster public health resources, make the MMR vaccine more accessible and openly encourage people to take it.
“The government knew that this was a possible outcome and should have acted a year and a half ago to make sure that we didn’t experience the outbreak,” Ms. Hoffman said.
“We all offer our condolences but the government actually has the power to do something about this, to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”
The Alberta government has defended its measles response, which includes a marketing campaign that began on April 14. Since then, the province said measles immunization has increased by 52 per cent compared with the same period last year.