Laurie Miller, a 59-year-old heart transplant patient exposed to measles in Stratford, Ont., says her story speaks to the risks people who are immunocompromised face during an outbreak.
She brought her husband to the emergency room in mid-March after an all-terrain vehicle accident. Their local public health unit called a few days later saying a patient with measles had been in the emergency room too.
Miller was at the hair salon she works at in a retirement home when she got the call. Though she’s born before 1970, a cohort Health Canada says likely acquired natural immunity to measles, the public health official told her to leave immediately and quarantine at home.
Her public health unit Huron Perth has seen more than 120 cases since an outbreak began in October. Public Health Ontario said Thursday the total number of cases reported in the province has surpassed 1,000, with 95 new cases since last week. Alberta’s case count was 122 as …