New Brunswick measles outbreak spreads to 44 people, mostly unvaccinated children

A measles outbreak in New Brunswick that began with a single infected traveller has now spread to 44 people, most of them unvaccinated children who caught the highly contagious virus at a time when measles is surging around the world.The outbreak, which was declared Nov. 1 in the Fredericton and Upper Saint John River Valley area, is the largest the province has seen in more than 30 years, according to Regional Medical Officer of Health Mark McKelvie.More than 80 per cent of the cases have been diagnosed in people under the age of 19, and all of the patients were considered “susceptible” to the measles virus, Dr. McKelvie said. That means they were either unvaccinated or had an immunocompromising condition that would make the measles shot less effective. Three patients were admitted to hospital and have since been released.