Health IQ: Vaccinated teacher contracts measles amid rise in Canada

Can you get measles if vaccinated?

Amid a rise in measles cases across Canada, an unusual incident unfolded last week as a fully vaccinated 30-year-old teacher in Ontario contracted the highly contagious disease.

The man had contact with students and teachers at a high school in York Region, north of Toronto, leading health officials to suspect it was linked to community transmission.

Dr. Sumontra Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician at Trillium Health Partners, stressed the rarity of fully vaccinated individuals contracting measles, emphasizing the shot’s effectiveness.

“This vaccine is very good at preventing infection, but it’s not 100 per cent. It’s about 95 to 97 per cent effective,” he said. “So there are going to be people who are fully vaccinated that still might get measles. It still does protect you against the more severe aspects of it.”

Measles, known for its airborne transmission, poses a significant threat due to its highly contagious nature.

It’s so contagious that Chakrabarti said people can still contract the virus up to two hours after an infected person leaves a room, underscoring the necessity of vaccination as the best protection against measles.

“The best protection that you have is the vaccination by far,” he stressed. “(The measles) is an exceptionally, if not the most, contagious virus that we know in terms of identified human pathogens. If you don’t want to get infected, you should avoid crowded indoor spaces. But apart from that, it’s something that’s very, very difficult to avoid.”

Read more about the long-lasting health complications from measles and how the vaccine can best protect you.

Are your acne products safe?

A U.S. lab has discovered benzene, a cancer-causing chemical, in several popular over-the-counter acne products like Clearasil and ProActiv.

After extensive testing, Valisure, an independent lab, reported that benzene can form at high levels in benzoyl peroxide products (used to treat acne) and that it found it in products from the brands it tested.

Benzoyl peroxide can break down into benzene, which Health Canada, the World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration all state can cause cancer.

“High levels of benzene were not only detected inside BPO (benzoyl peroxide) products but also in the air around incubated BPO products,” Valisure’s report stated, “showing that benzene can leak out of some product packages and pose a potential inhalation risk.”

The report also stated that benzene can form “over 800 times” the FDA conditionally restricted concentration limit in products and that “the current evidence suggests that this problem applies broadly to BPO products currently on the market.”

Benzene exposure, by inhalation or absorption through the mouth or skin, can result in leukemia and blood disorders that can be life-threatening, Health Canada previously told Global News.

Read more about what products were tested by the lab and Valisure’s petition aimed at suspending the sale of these implicated products.

— THE TOPIC —

Tick season is upon us

— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —

As Canada’s temperatures warm and spring approaches with blossoming flowers, ticks emerge from their winter shelters, ready to attach themselves to unsuspecting hosts after a period of dormancy.

Given the unseasonably warm winter experienced in many parts of the country, experts caution that these ticks likely emerged weeks ago, primed and ready to strike.

“Ticks have started. They only need about 4 C and they’re active and they’re questing,” explained David Beresford, an entomology professor at Trent University in Oshawa, Ont. “They want to grab on and they want to bite.”

Warmer temperatures and shifting weather patterns have created more favourable conditions for ticks to thrive and expand their habitats across Canada. This expanding range brings them into closer contact with humans and animals, heightening the risk of tick-borne illnesses.

Lyme disease is the most common tick disease in Canada and is primarily spread by deer ticks. It’s been on the rise in Canada over the last decade due to climate change.

With tick-borne illnesses on the rise nationwide, Dr. Maggie Brown-Bury, a veterinarian from Newfoundland, urged Canadians to prioritize protection for both themselves and their pets while outdoors.

To protect yourself from ticks, especially when spending time outdoors in areas where they are prevalent, she recommended wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucked into socks or boots to create a barrier against them.

Additionally, applying insect repellents containing DEET to exposed skin and clothing can provide protection. Stick to cleared paths and steer clear of tall grasses or dense vegetation, where ticks tend to lurk.