Province surpasses one-thousand mark in measles outbreak

By Cal Braid
Southern Alberta Newspapers
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

This week’s measles count showed the same trend as we’ve observed in recent weeks – up and up. As of June 27 at noon, Alberta Health had recorded 1,122 cases of the virus, with 20 communicable and active cases at the time of the report.

 The weekly report divides the province into five zones: north, central, south, Edmonton, and Calgary –- and as usual, the south zone is a hotbed of infection with three new cases and 722 so far this season. The north zone tracked 13 new cases and is now at 262 total, and the central zone had zero new cases with 106 to date. Edmonton and Calgary remain relatively unscathed, with one active case and only 31 total reported to this point.

 In the under-five category, 329 children have been hit; in the ages five to 17 range, 497 cases have been tracked. Among the 18 to 54 population, 241 people have been infected. Those over 55 remain basically unscathed, with only five known instances of individuals contracting the virus. No senior reported a single new infection in the past week. Provincewide, three people are currently hospitalized in the ICU.