Measles & Rubella Weekly Monitoring Report – Week 8: February 19 to February 25, 2023

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Epidemiological summary

During the epidemiological week 8 of 2023no cases of measles or rubella have been reported in Canada^{Footnote 2}. To date, in 2023, three cases of measles have been reported and no case of rubella has been reported. The last case of rubella was reported in December 2019. The last case of congenital rubella syndrome/infection was reported in September 2018.

Figure 1: Number of cases of measles (n=3), rubella (n=0) and congenital rubella syndrome (n=0)^{Footnote 3}by week of rash onset, as reported to the Canadian Measles & Rubella Surveillance System (CCRS) and Measles & Rubella Surveillance System (MARS), for the period ending February 25, 2023.

Figure 1: Text Description

Epidemiological week of rash onset, 2023	Reported number of confirmed measles cases	Reported number of confirmed rubella cases	Reported number of confirmed cases of congenital rubella syndrome/infection
1	1	0	0
2	0	0	0
3	0	0	0
4	0	0	0
5	0	0	0
6	0	0	0
7	2	0	0
8	0	0	0
9	0	0	0
10	0	0	0
11	0	0	0
12	0	0	0
13	0	0	0
14	0	0	0
15	0	0	0
16	0	0	0
17	0	0	0
18	0	0	0
19	0	0	0
20	0	0	0
21	0	0	0
22	0	0	0
23	0	0	0
24	0	0	0
25	0	0	0
26	0	0	0
27	0	0	0
28	0	0	0
29	0	0	0
30	0	0	0
31	0	0	0
32	0	0	0
33	0	0	0
34	0	0	0
35	0	0	0
36	0	0	0
37	0	0	0
38	0	0	0
39	0	0	0
40	0	0	0
41	0	0	0
42	0	0	0
43	0	0	0
44	0	0	0
45	0	0	0
46	0	0	0
47	0	0	0
48	0	0	0
49	0	0	0
50	0	0	0
51	0	0	0
52	0	0	0
Cases since the beginning of the year	3	0	0

Geographical distribution

There are two active cases^{Footnote *} measles and no active cases^{Footnote *} rubella in Canada.

Figure 2: Distribution of active cases^{Footnote *} confirmed measles, by health region

Figure 2: Text description

Health region	Active measles cases
East	0
Centre	0
West	0
Labrador-Grenfell	0
Prince Edward Island	0
South health district	0
Southwest health district	0
Annapolis Valley Health Unit	0
Colchester East Hants Health Unit	0
Cumberland Health Unit	0
Pictou Health District	0
Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Unit	0
Cape Breton Health Unit	0
Capital health district	0
Zone 1 (NB)	0
Zone 2 (NB)	0
Zone 3 (NB)	0
Zone 4 (NB)	0
Zone 5 (NB)	0
Zone 6 (NB)	0
Zone 7 (NB)	0
Quebec and Chaudière-Appalaches	0
Centre-du-Quebec	0
Montreal and Laval	0
West of Quebec	0
Monteregie	0
Northeast	0
East Central Ontario	0
Central West Ontario	0
Eastern Ontario	0
Northeastern Ontario	0
Northwestern Ontario	0
Southwestern Ontario	1
City of Toronto Health Unit	1
Winnipeg Health Unit	0
Prairie Mountain Health Unit	0
Interlake-Eastern Health Unit	0
North health district	0
South Health	0
Saskatchewan Sud	0
Saskatchewan Centre	0
Saskatchewan Nord	0
Zone sud	0
Zone Calgary	0
Central Zones	0
Zone Edmonton	0
Zone Nord	0
British Columbia	0
Yukon	0
Northwest Territories	0
Nunavut	0

Footnote *

Active measles cases are those for which the case rash onset date occurs within 42 days of the epidemiological week end date^{Footnote 4}. Active rubella cases are those for which the case rash onset date occurs within 46 days of the week end date epidemiological^{Footnote 5}.

Return to footnote referrer *

Summary of the laboratory

Measles

In 2023, one (1) measles case was genotyped and the genotype was B3. This case had a recent history of travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan and the genotype B3 strain detected matched that previously imported from the region.

Figure 3: Distribution of genotypes of measles strains detected among 2023 cases (n=1), by week of onset ^{Footnote †} rash.

Figure 3: Text description

Epidemiological week	B3	B3 – Harare	D4	D8	D8 – Taunton	D9	H1	Total
1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
32	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
34	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
35	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
36	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
37	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
39	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
40	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
41	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
42	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
43	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
44	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
45	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
46	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
47	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
48	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
49	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
50	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
51	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
52	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Footnote †

Epidemiological weeks for laboratory specimens submitted to the National Microbiology Laboratory are assigned and recorded according to WHO guidelines (WHO.WER.2012;9(87):73). Week 1 begins on the first Monday of the year, i.e. 02 January 2023. However, for the purposes of this report, genotype data is presented in accordance with PAHO reporting weeks, where the first week of 2023, starts on January 1, 2023.

Return to footnote referrer †

For information on the interpretation and use of measles genotyping (including a discussion of genotypes and named strains), see: Hiebert J and Severini A. Canada Communicable Disease Report 2014; 40-12: 257 – 260.

The current global distribution of measles genotypes is presented on the WHO web Measles Surveillance (in English only).

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Active measles cases are those for which the case rash onset date occurs within 42 days of the epidemiological week end date. Active rubella cases are those for which the case rash onset date occurs within 46 days of the epidemiological week end date.

Return to footnote referrer 1

Footnote 2

Only cases with rash onset before the stated end date are included in this report. Additional cases will be described in subsequent reports.

Return to footnote referrer 2

Footnote 3

The epidemiological week of birth is used for cases of congenital rubella syndrome/infection.

Return to footnote referrer 3

Footnote 4

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Chapter 7: Measles. Page last reviewed: May 13, 2019. (available in English only)

Return to footnote referrer 4

Footnote 5

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Manual for the Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. Chapter 14: Rubella. Page last reviewed: May 18, 2018. (available in English only)

Return to footnote referrer 5