2 cases of measles confirmed in Calgary

The Calgary Health Region is holding an emergency vaccination campaign for students at Western Canada High School after two siblings contracted the measles.

A 17-year-old male who does not attend the school caught red measles while travelling in north Africa last month and then gave them to his sister, 16, who goes to the southwest high school, Dr. David Strong, the region's deputy medical officer of health, said Monday.

"It's very localized. We know the contacts for these two cases and we're doing a very targeted approach to identify the small numbers of people that would be susceptible," he said at a news conference.

The region is providing vaccinations for students who have not received two doses of the vaccine, or who do not have immunity to measles.

Measles is highly contagious, spread by airborne droplets released when an infected person sneezes or coughs, orthrough directcontact with fluids from the infected person's nose ormouth.

Early symptoms of the measlesare similar to a bad cold,plus swelling of the lymph nodes, followed by a body rash. There is no cure or treatment. Complications can lead to deafness or blindness.

Measles is rare in Canada only seven cases were reported in 2004 because of childhood immunization against the disease. In Alberta, most children receive a measles vaccine before their first birthday and then again at age four to six.

'We're doing a very targeted approach to identify the small numbers of people that would be susceptible.' Dr. David Strong, Calgary Health Region

"We have very high levels of immunization coverage for measles [in Calgary] and we're finding this in the school as well well in the range of 95 per cent so that in itself really limits the possibility of measles spreading in a school setting," said Strong.

Anyone who hasn't had at least one shot is being told to stay away from school for at least 14 days, which is about how long it takes for the disease to develop after exposure.

The region, which was notified about the cases last Thursday, said it held clinics over the weekend and immunized 148 students.