TORONTO – The Toronto Public Health Agency said on Thursday it was looking for passengers on WestJet flights that may have been exposed to measles.
This opinion follows the launch of an investigation after three people were infected with the measles virus. Two of the patients were from the Toronto area and were infected with a carrier of the virus from outside the Queen’s City, while the third patient contracted the disease outside the country.
One of the contaminated patients is a flight attendant who was on seven flights from WestJet from March 22 to 24 (see list below), confirmed the company at Global News . One of these flights was a two-day return trip between Toronto and Montreal.
Patients could also have been infected on two Emirates Airlines flights.
At the same time, a person attending Huron Street Junior School in Toronto was also infected with measles. The parents of the students have been warned and vaccination clinics are held in school, said the health agency.
According to Health Canada, 10 measles cases were confirmed in the country during the first 11 weeks of the year. These cases were linked to four import events. A patient in Nova Scotia then transmitted the virus to six people.
The Toronto Health Agency noted that measles is a highly contagious disease, primarily in people who have not received the appropriate vaccines. “Babies under the age of one, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems can get very sick by contracting the disease,” the public body said.
Covered Emirates Airlines flights
March 19
- Flight EK517, New Delhi, India (4:12 pm), Dubai, United Arab Emirates (6:13 pm)
March 20
- Flight EK241, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (9:55 am), Toronto (4:04 pm)
Intended WestJet flights
March 22
- Flight WS450 from Abbotsford (5:49 am) to Calgary (7:50 am)
- Flight WS610, from Calgary (10:15 am) to Ottawa (3:47 pm)
- Flight WS369, from Ottawa (4:40 pm) to Toronto (5:42 pm)
March 23
- Flight WS590 from Toronto (4:27 pm) to Montreal (5:41 pm)
March 24
- Flight WS581, from Montréal (7:55 am) to Toronto (9:13 am)
- Flight WS2668, from Toronto (10 h 16) to Turks and Caicos Islands (1:56 pm)
- Flight WS2669, from Turks and Caicos Islands (2:59 pm) to Toronto (7:15 pm)
