VANCOUVER — Health officials have confirmed a 22nd case of the measles in British Columbia.
Seventeen people have been diagnosed with the contagious disease in the Vancouver area since February and two cases each were identified on Vancouver Island and in 100 Mile House, in the southern Cariboo region of B.C.
Medical health officer Dr. Shovita Padhi of Fraser Health says the latest case involves a woman who lives between Burnaby and Hope and who acquired the infection overseas, similar to some of the past cases.
She declined to say which country the woman had travelled to but says measles outbreaks are occurring in several parts of the world and it's important to have two doses of the measles vaccine.
Padhi says the patient, who was unsure about whether she'd been immunized, sought medical attention after displaying classic symptoms of the disease, including a cough, runny nose and a rash that starts along the hairline and moves down the face toward the rest of the body.
British Columbia is starting a two-month voluntary measles vaccine catch-up drive this month in an effort to vaccinate 95 per cent of youth before next fall's mandatory immunization registration of students across the province.