Lauchlan Lee-Benton, 18-months-old, is held by his mother, Tina Lee, as he receives a mumps, measles and rubella booster vaccination on Wednesday August 27, 2008.DARRYL DYCK
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control is warning the public to be alert after a measles outbreak in Metro Vancouver.
The centre said Tuesday that there have been 10 confirmed and four suspected cases of measles in the past two weeks.
Eight of those cases stem from a single household, while two others are believed to have come from out-of-country visitors in February or early March.
Dr. Monika Naus, the centre's immunization director, said the risk remains low for the general public because most B.C. children receive the measles vaccine between their first and second birthdays.
None of the people who caught the disease had had the two doses of vaccine required for full protection and many weren't immunized because of philosophical objections.
"Most years, we see no cases of measles in B.C. because our vaccination rates are high," Naus said in a written statement.
"Nevertheless, these cases show that with global travel, even a vaccine-preventable disease - as rare as measles is now in Canada - is still only an airplane ride away."
Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that spreads through airborne contact. It begins with a fever, runny nose and cough and within days, a rash appears around the face, chest and limbs.
Several of the B.C. cases occurred after the illness spread from one person to another.
Naus said the message is clear on how to avoid getting the disease.
"Whether it's measles, mumps, rubella, or a host of other vaccine-preventable diseases for which we have vaccines, the best thing anyone can do is to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date," she said.
"Two doses of measles vaccine are 99 per cent effective against the disease. Those are pretty good odds."
In the summer of 2008, about 200 cases of mumps were recorded in B.C.'s Fraser Valley. Health officials said at the time the illness began with a religious group that shunned immunization.