Another case of the measles has been spotted in Calgary, prompting Alberta Health Services to encourage the public to get immunized.

Dr. Karla Gustafson, medical officer of health with Alberta Health Services, explained that being vaccinated is the best way to protect yourself from extremely contagious diseases like the measles.

"Vaccines are so important, especially for diseases like measles and others where we have actually no treatment if you are to become ill. Vaccines provide the best protection from even getting the illness in the first place."

Gustafson said that these cases of measles most likely didn't originate within Alberta.

"The cases of measles that we've seen here have been related to travel internationally, outside of North America. Currently, there are a high number of cases in many countries around the world. Measles can spread very easily, we know, and travel occurs all the time. It can be really easy to acquire it when travelling to an outbreak location."

When a large portion of the population becomes immunized, the population experiences herd immunization which makes it more difficult for a contagious disease to get around to those who are not immune. Gustafson said that in Alberta this is the case.

"Here, where we have routine immunization programs and we aim to get every child vaccinated. Once you reach a certain level in the population, it actually protects everyone from having any disease circulate."

"Lower immunization rates do leave the population venerable to the spread of disease. We know that, and we've seen that around the world with many different community diseases. Vaccination is really important and it is the best protection against illness."

Gustafson explained that any side effects that may come from vaccination are worth the immunization.

"Common side effects usually include pain at the injection site and can include fever. For our measles-containing vaccines, occasionally people do get a rash within a certain timeframe of the vaccine. But, again, these kinds of side effects are very, very mild and do not require any treatment, whereas we know that illnesses like measles can be very severe and even life-threatening."

She said that vaccines are important to protect not only yourself but other people who may not be able to be vaccinated.

"Vaccines protect not just the person vaccinated, but others in the community who maybe can't be vaccinated due to medical conditions or other things, like age or pregnancy. There are a variety of reasons why certain people can't be vaccinated at certain times, so we want to ensure they're protected as well."

 

Comments? Questions? Story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com