VIDEO: ‘Measles is the polar opposite of a harmless infection’

Public health officials say Ontario is in the midst of its largest measles outbreak in almost 30 years.

There are now 350 total cases since an outbreak began in October — a jump of 173 cases since Feb. 27.

"It is unusual to see this kind of spread," said Dr. Christine Navarro, a public health physician at Public Health Ontario. "It's not something that we've experienced in the province in many, many years, certainly not since elimination of measles in Canada in 1998."

In most cases, the outbreak has impacted unvaccinated people. Of the 31 people who have been hospitalized, 30 were unvaccinated and one person’s immunization status was unknown.

Dr. Dawn Bowdish, an immunologist and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University, was a recent guest on our Inside the Village podcast. She said because measles was eliminated so many decades ago, there is a misconception that it isn't a serious threat.

"Measles is the opposite of a harmless childhood infection," Bowdish said. "It is the polar opposite."

One of the most contagious diseases in the world, measles can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain and death. 

"Measles actually infects your immune cells, so it invades your lung immune cells, it takes a tour of your body as they go around infecting millions and millions of more cells, and it kills them," Bowdish said. "So what ends up happening is as many as one in 10 cases requires serious medical care, because without your immune cells, you become so vulnerable to just normal bacteria."

You can watch the full interview HERE.

Hosted by Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, the Editor-in-Chief of Village Media, Inside the Village is a news and current affairs podcast that provides a weekly window into some of the best local journalism from across our chain of Ontario newsrooms. Produced by Derek Turner, the program also explores bigger-picture issues that impact people across the province.

Every episode is available HERE. If you prefer the audio version, it is available wherever you find your favourite podcasts.

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