(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Measles outbreak

Northern Sask. health agency monitoring B.C. measles outbreak

Feb 25, 2019 | 1:49 PM

As the number of confirmed cases of the measles in B.C. reaches 13, healthy authority members are keeping an eye on the outbreak and whether it could affect Saskatchewan.

The Northern Inter-Tribal Health Authority (NITHA) looks after 33 Northern Saskatchewan First Nations, and serves a total population of 55,000 people. Medical Health Officer Doctor Nnamdi Ndubuka told paNOW the situation happening on the West Coast is on his radar.

“We are currently monitoring the situation and we know that measles cases could be imported very easily due to travel,” he said.

So for that reason, Ndubuka said staff members worked very hard to communicate with parents and families who may have apprehensions about getting their children vaccinated. The message appears to be getting through. For 2018, 85 per cent of two-years-olds received their vaccination, and for five-year-olds, the coverage rate was even higher at 97 per cent. Ndubuka said he was very happy with those numbers.

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“For us to reach the top protective level, which is the head immunity, we require between 85 and 90 per cent coverage,” he said.

In some cases the communities served by NITHA are remote and reaching families by phone can be difficult. Ndubuka said the nurses, who serve the communities, did a great job communicating with families through either word of mouth or through social media. During the rush of the flu season, NITHA experienced a shortage of doses, and had to order more. Ndubuka said that was not the case with the measles vaccine.

“We get vaccines from the Ministry of Health and we provide to our customers in a timely manner, so there are no issues with vaccine supplies,” he said.

NITHA involves a partnership between Prince Albert Grand Council, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Lac La Ronge Indian Band, and Meadow Lake Tribal Council.

A spokesperson for the Saskatchewan Health Authority told paNOW last week the threat for a measles outbreak in Saskatchewan was low, but acknowledged they too were watching with keen interest what was happening in British Columbia and south of the border.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: nigelmaxwell