Northern Health has responded to rumours that there have been cases of measles at G.R. Baker Hospital in Quesnel.
Eryn Collins is the Regional Manager of Public Relations and Public Affairs…
“I can absolutely confirm that to date there have been no confirmed cases of measles anywhere in the Northern Health and that includes Quesnel.”
Collins says they are aware that with increased awareness, both in the public and among healthcare providers, there may be cases where a person presents with a suspicion of measles…
“There are quite a few things that can cause symptoms such as a rash, but those are followed up with by our public health staff out of an abundance of caution, and to date, we have not had any confirmed and we do not currently have any suspected measles cases.”
When asked if they would let the public know if there is a case of measles, Collins says Northern Health has a protocol in place…
“We would inform the public of any measles activity but only under certain circumstances, when there is an identifiable risk to the public or where there are individuals who may have been exposed but that we’re not able to identify or contact directly. So when there are confirmed cases and that risk does not exist, we would confirm that there is no risk but we’d need to very careful about not violating someone’s privacy by talking about a single case or small numbers of cases in any given community.”
Collins says there have been examples from other parts of BC where notices have been put out based on a particular area where members of the public may have been exposed, and that’s largely because those individuals who may have been exposed can’t be directly identified.
She says despite the fact that there are no confirmed or suspected measles cases in Quesnel, Northern Health still suggests that people check to make sure that they are up to date on their immunizations.