A local parent whose child has not been able to get fully vaccinated yet says she’s fearful after public health officials confirmed a case of measles in the community.
The potentially fatal but preventable disease is caused by a highly contagious virus and has been spreading in Ontario at a rate not seen in decades. Health officials say lower vaccination rates are to blame.
Adriana Unis is a Windsor mom whose one-year-old daughter Willow recently finished cancer treatment and is too immunocompromised to get vaccines yet.
“All those serious illnesses, like the measles, would actually probably end up killing my daughter – even a fever would put her in the ER,” Unis said.”So this is all still pretty scary for us, even though the ‘scary part’ is supposed to be over.
“We now just have to be on constant alert for illnesses, fevers.”
On Wednesday, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) announced a lab-test confirmed case of measles at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Ruthven and two possible exposure points in the community.
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Doctor Mehdi Aloosh is the medical officer of health for Windsor-Essex.
The local case comes as measles sees a resurgence in Ontario, with nearly 200 confirmed or suspected cases – mostly among kids – according to the province’s most recent report.
Symptoms of measles include a fever, cough, watery eyes, and runny nose, as well as a red rash that appears three to seven days after the initial symptoms. In some cases, the disease can result in severe complications requiring hospitalization.
In Ontario, 18 children have been hospitalized – all of whom were unvaccinated, the province said.
Death, though rare, is also possible. In the U.S., an unvaccinated child died of measles last month amid an outbreak in Texas. In Ontario, a child in Hamilton died last year, the only measles death reported in the province in 2024.
The measles vaccine, which experts say is safe and highly effective, is usually first administered at age one, per Ontario’s immunization schedule. A second dose follows between the ages of four and six.
The vaccine is among those elementary and high school students in Ontario must receive – unless they have a valid exemption on file. Exemptions can be given for medical, conscious, or religious reasons, and involve filling out a form and taking an educational course.
This week, the health unit said nearly 400 local students whose immunization records were incomplete – meaning they were either unvaccinated or hadn’t provided updated records – had been suspended.
Asked for the latest immunization figures, the health unit pointed to last school year’s data showing that roughly 86 per cent of the area’s students were protected against measles.
Dr. Mehdi Aloosh, WECHU’s medical officer of health, told CBC this week he’s concerned about the local case of measles but added it was “a matter of time” until the virus found its way to Windsor-Essex.
Roughly 200 cases have been reported across southwestern Ontario over the past several weeks, according to Aloosh, and he said the health unit is doing close contact management.
The health unit advises anyone showing signs or symptoms of measles to immediately isolate at home and contact a health care provider — but before attending a clinic or hospital, contact those facilities so they can prepare for your arrival to prevent possible spread, and wear a mask while seeking care.
Unis says she fears her four-year-old son – who is vaccinated – could still bring the virus home to her daughter who can’t be vaccinated until she is 20 months old.
She says she believes vaccine exemptions should be strictly for medical reasons, “not personal preference.”
She also worries about misinformation about vaccines spreading on social media, particularly in moms’ groups.
“It’s been proven by science over and over again that these vaccines work – and we saw them work in that we haven’t really seen a measles outbreak like this in a while,” she said. “And now it’s coming back and it’s local.”
