Tests show Sioux Lookout illness not measles, Northwestern Health Unit says

Test results have confirmed that a sick infant in Sioux Lookout does not have the measles virus, the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) said Friday.

The NWHU had announced what it initially said was a "probable" case of the virus on Thursday. The infant was showing symptoms compatible with measles, and had travelled.

However, lab testing has since revealed that the infant does not have measles.

The NWHU said anyone who was isolating, or monitoring for symptoms after possible exposure, can discontinue those measures.

The NWHU had also planned a measles vaccination clinic for Saturday for those who had possibly been exposed to the virus. Earlier Friday, Sandra Krikke, the NWHU's manager of infectious diseases, said the Saturday clinic would be cancelled if the Sioux Lookout case came back negative.

There have been no confirmed cases ofthe highly-contagious disease in northern Ontario this year. The northern part of the province has not seen the same spike in measles as the rest of Ontario.

New data from Public Health Ontario (PHO) was released Thursday. It indicates as of Wednesday, 23 cases of measles have been detected in the province since Jan. 1, 2024. Those cases have been reported across nine public health units, none of which are in northern Ontario.

The data indicates six hospitalizations and one death.

Just months into 2024, Ontario has hit nearly a quarter of the roughly 100 measles cases documented in the entire decade beforehand. Public health officialssaid this year's death marks the province's first deadly case since 1989, which isas far back as its data goes.

In a recent interview with CBC News, a Thunder Bay District Health Unit spokesperson estimated it had been at least 25 years since the northwest regionhaddetected a case of measles.

Krikke said the virus is "very contagious," and is airbone; the virus can remain for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area.

"Clinical signs and symptoms include fever, and usually people will get a rash for at least three days," Krikke said. "Usually they also have cough, runny nose or conjunctivitis, or red eyes."

"It doesn't start right away," she said. "The measles virus, once it enters the body, it takes a while for it to appear."

Symptoms, Krikke said, usually show 10 to 12 days after exposure, and can last from seven to 21 days.