South zone measles cases dropping for first time

Southern Alberta Newspapers

This week’s measles count showed that the virus is at work in the north zone population. As of July 2, Alberta Health had recorded 1,169 cases of the virus, with nine communicable and active cases at the time of the report.

The weekly report divides the province into five zones: north, central, south, Edmonton, and Calgary. The north zone has outpaced the south for the first time with six new cases for the week and 291 total this season. Here in the south zone, Alberta Health tracked only three new cases for a total of 738 to date, and the central zone and Edmonton had only one new case. Calgary remained unscathed, with zero active cases and only 24 total reported to this point.

In the under-five category, 339 children have been hit; in the ages five to 17 range, 515 cases have been tracked. Among the 18 to 54 population, 309 people have been infected. Those over 55 remain basically untouched, with only six known instances of individuals contracting the virus. No senior reported a single new infection in the past week. Provincewide, only one person was hospitalized.