Staff at Public Health Sudbury and District took immediate steps this summer to ensure that an outbreak of measles in the area did not get out of control.
The steps were outlined in PHSD's most recent Board of Health monthly meeting Sept. 18.
Measles is one of the most highly communicable infectious diseases, with greater than a 90 per cent secondary attack rate among people who are susceptible, said Health Canada.
The measles virus spreads through the air when a person who is infected breathes, coughs, sneezes or talks. It may also spread through direct contact with fomites or secretions from the nose and throat of a person who is infected.
Christina Baier, PHSD’s manager, health protection division, told the board that measles is worrisome for the health unit because as a highly communicable disease, it’s a significant concern for any public health agency.
"It is highly contagious and can lead to severe complications and death,” she said.
The disease can be spread from one person to another simply through the air we breathe, Baier said.
As she spoke to the board of health members, Baier gave an example of how easily measles can infect others.
"So for example if I had measles today, all of you if you were unimmunized, you would be at risk,” she said.
“If a cleaner or staff member came into this room or into the area I have been in within two hours after I had left, also unimmunized, they would also be at risk," said Baier.
Health promoter Afzaa Rajabali said steps were taken to notify outside groups such as local schools, summer camps and the school bus consortium.
She added that the PHSD website was updated with newer content about the disease along with a measles self-assessment tool.
Area hospitals were notified about the increase in cases as well as primary health care providers, she said.
Public health staff were given additional training for responding to measles patients. She said the health unit created an emergency treatment pathway, a structured plan for responding to patients with measles.
"Now the emergency preventive treatment for measles contact is time sensitive, and I thought it is important to have a community pathway for the rapid co-ordination and administration of vaccination and immunoglobulin,” said Rajabali.
“And finally, we also planned for the distribution of intramuscular immunoglobulin with our health-care partners.”
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Mustafa Hirji said there was also an effort directed at encouraging vaccination, making it clear there are risks for people who are not vaccinated.
He said not everyone believes there are risks because there is still misinformation being spread in the community.
"A much bigger problem is all the misinformation is being created about false risks of getting the vaccine,” said Hirji.
“So that's really where I think more of our effort focuses. We really try to have those conversations done one on one, because I think that creates a dynamic where you can really explore what are someone's true fears and really help work through some of those.”
He added that the health unit is careful not to highlight the fact that measles can kill some people, but he said staff will mention it, if it is appropriate.
Len Gillis covers health care and mining for Sudbury.com.