AHS ISSUES MEASLES EXPOSURE ALERT ACROSS SOUTHERN ALBERTA AMID WIDESPREAD OUTBREAK
Alberta Health Services issued what it called a “standing measles exposure advisory” for the entire South health zone late Friday afternoon.
“This standing advisory will replace the use of separate site-specific exposure advisories, which no longer accurately capture the scope of potential risk at this time,” AHS said in a written statement.
The health agency noted it was tracking and managing a large number of measles cases in the area, “including in individuals with no known exposure source,” it said.
“This indicates underreporting of measles disease to AHS, and a widespread potential exposure risk across all communities in the Zone.”
The advisory, which will remain in effect until further notice, means anyone in the South health zone should be aware of “significant current risk for measles disease” for those whose immunizations aren’t up-to-date, according to AHS.
“At this point, anyone in the South Zone who was born in or after 1970 and has fewer than two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine, is at risk for developing measles,” the health agency said. “They should monitor for symptoms of measles and are strongly encouraged to review their immunization records.”
Prior to Friday’s announcement, AHS has issued exposure advisories for two-dozen locations across many southern Alberta localities this week alone.
Alberta had recorded 560 known measles cases, including 22 new cases, as of noon Friday. Of those 560, 73 per cent of cases have been in the south zone while 17 per cent have been in the central zone and seven per cent in the north zone. The Calgary zone has had 12 cases and the Edmonton zone six.
Earlier this month, the Alberta government, alarmed by the worst outbreak of measles in decades, announced measures designed to increase vaccination rates and a public awareness campaign urging Albertans to get vaccinated.
Medical experts say herd immunity would require 95 per cent of Alberta’s population to be vaccinated, but the province has not reached that.
Vaccination rates are particularly low in southern Alberta, with numerous communities in the south having vaccination rates of less than 50 per cent in 2024.
As of May 17, 89 per cent of people with confirmed measles cases were not immunized, according to the province’s measles dashboard, which also shows an increase in all zones of measles containing immunization doses being given in 2025, particularly this spring, compared to the past two years.
2025-05-23T17:02:41Z