WDG Public Health warning of potential exposure after confirmed measles cases
Posted Mar 3, 2025 02:19:06 PM.
Last Updated Mar 3, 2025 02:40:05 PM.
Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Public Health is warning of potential exposure relating to two confirmed measles cases.
The health unit is dealing with one confirmed case in WDG, while another confirmed case is an individual who lives outside the jurisdiction but attended an event in Guelph in February.
WDG Public Health is in the process of connecting with anyone who may have been exposed to either case.
The agency is also stressing that the best way to prevent measles is vaccination.
“Measles is extremely contagious – particularly among unvaccinated people – and can be very dangerous, especially for infants under one year of age,” said WDG’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Nicola Mercer, in a release.
Dr. Mercer is asking families to be vigilant with March Break almost here, given the increasing circulation of measles in southern Ontario right now.
Largest outbreak in Ontario in over 30 years
The cases in WDG follow an increasing trend across the province from other health units noting rising numbers.
On Feb. 27, Ontario identified 78 new measles cases over the course of two weeks, public health officials said, calling it the largest outbreak the province has seen in almost 30 years.
The new cases bring Ontario’s total this year to just over 140, far surpassing the 101 total infections recorded in the province between 2013 and 2023.
Almost all of the new cases are connected to an interprovincial outbreak that began in October, which has sickened 177 people in Ontario and also saw the virus spread in New Brunswick and Manitoba.
The epicentre of Ontario’s outbreak has been in neighbouring Southwestern and Grand Erie public health regions.
With files from The Canadian Press.
