Quebec measles count rises to 136

The number of measles cases in Quebec's Lanaudire region has climed to136, up from 119 on Wednesday.

Public health officials sayall the cases are connected and involveunvaccinatedindividuals.

• Measles: What you need to know
• Measles count jumps inLanaudiere
• Rush to vaccinate at school in Joliette

The confirmed cases are children or adults from the same religious community called L'esprit Saint.

A member of theL'espritSaint religious community told the CBC that their prophet warns against vaccines,claiming they can lead to serious illnesses.

On Thursday, public health officials launched avaccination campaign at a local schoolafter learningan infected child had recently visited the school.

Students who still hadn't been vaccinated by the end of the daywereforbidden from attending school until further notice.

The firstQuebecersto contract measles were exposed while visiting Disneyland in California.

Measles is a highly contagious infection that causes high fever, adistinctive rash and a runny nose. Complications can includepneumonia, deafness and death in about one or two cases per 1,000infected individuals.