People who were recently at the Vancouver Airport Hotel and the ICBC Centre on No. 3 Road are being alerted that they might have been exposed to measles.
The possible exposure at Vancouver Airport Hotel, at 7188 Westminster Hwy., was between Feb. 24 and March 2, and the one at the No. 3 Road ICBC Centre, at Lansdowne Shopping Centre, was on Feb. 26 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The potential exposures are linked to a case of measles acquired from outside Canada, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
Measles is a highly infectious disease and is airborne spread, VCH said in an alert sent out on Monday.
Most people in Canada will be immune to measles due to prior immunization or natural infection, VCH noted, and adults born before 1970 likely had measles as a child and are immune.
People born after 1970 who are not vaccinated against the disease are asked to monitor for symptoms for 21 days.
People who are not immune and were exposed Feb. 28 or later can still decrease their risk of illness by booking an appointment for vaccination as soon as possible. Go to https://www.vch.ca/en/health-topics/measles to find out how to book an appointment.
Families of exposed, unvaccinated infants (under 12 months), pregnant women, and immune-compromised individuals are recommended to contact local public health or VCH Communicable Disease at 604-675-3900.
Symptoms of measles include a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and a rash that starts starts first on the face and neck, and spreads to the chest, arms and legs.
The rash lasts about four to seven days.
Anyone who becomes ill and suspects they have measles, can call their healthcare provider and inform them of the possible measles exposure, so that they can arrange to see them in a manner that avoids infecting others in the waiting room.
They can also call the local health unit and ask for the communicable disease nurse or call HealthLinkBC at 8-1-1, which is a free-of-charge provincial health information and advice phone line available in 130 different languages.
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