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Travellers that have passed through Vancouver International Airport (YVR) may have been exposed to measles, according to health officials.
The BC Centre for Disease Control issued an alert on Tuesday about an "infectious individual" that travelled through the airport twice in recent weeks.
The person was on Air Canada flight 0004 that arrived in YVR from Tokyo's Narita International Airport on July 30 at 9:25 a.m.
The passenger with measles stayed at the airport before boarding Air Canada Jazz flight 8125 from YVR and arriving at Portland International Airport at 2:47 p.m.
On August 6, the person boarded Alaska Airlines flight 2536 from the airport in Portland and arrived at YVR at 10:55 a.m. The individual departed Vancouver at 4 p.m. on a Norwegian Cruise Lines vessel destined for Seward Alaska.
"Measles is a highly infectious disease transmitted by airborne spread," according to the BCCDC. "Passengers, crew and travellers who may have come into contact with measles are asked to check their immunization status."
Infants less than a year old or people that have never been immunized against measles are most at risk.
Symptoms of measles include:
- Fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red eyes
- Rash that starts centrally including on the face, spreads to the limbs and lasts at least three days
The incubation period (time to develop symptoms after being exposed) for measles ranges from 7 to 21 days. If a traveller has been infected with measles from this event, symptoms would develop by about August 27.
If you become ill with any of the above symptoms and suspect you have measles call your doctor.
This is the second measles warning about an infected individual travelling through YVR this summer.
