Health agency warns of measles exposure at Edmonton children’s hospital

A person with a confirmed case of measles was in public late last week at Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) said in a media release Monday afternoon the person was at the hospital’s emergency department from 6-8:15 a.m.

The hospital is a part of the Walter C. Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre complex on the University of Alberta’s main campus.

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People who were at the emergency department during this time frame, were born in 1970 or later, and have fewer than two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine could be at risk of developing the illness.

The disease is highly contagious and spreads easily through the air. Symptoms include a fever 38.3 C or higher; a cough, runny nose and/or red eyes; and a rash that appears three to seven days after fever begins.

Anyone with measles symptoms is asked to stay home and call the measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 before visiting a health-care facility or doctor.