Montreal Public Health reports 2nd measles case this month

Montreal Public Health is warning of a measles case which has exposed travellers at the Pierre-Eliott-Trudeau International Airport.

The infected person was on board an Air Transat flight, TS403, from Rome that landed in Montreal on July 8 at 3:30 p.m. 

This is the second measles case caught abroad that Montreal public health authorities confirmed since declaring the end of an outbreak in the city last month.

Last Friday, officials said a traveller who caught the measles during a trip to Africa was on board the Delta Airlines flight DL9288 from Amsterdam that landed in Montreal on July 3. 

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease, and its spread has become rarer because of immunization campaigns. The best way to protect yourself is to get vaccinated against it.

Authorities say travellers and staff who were at the arrivals and baggage section of the Trudeau airport between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on July 8 may have come in contact with the infected person from the Air Transat flight.

The next day, the person carrying measles reportedly visited two stores in the Montreal area.

Public health officials say you have been exposed to measles if you were at the Prima Goccia store in Montréal-Nord between 10:25 a.m. and 1 p.m. and the Nour FX currency exchange office in Saint-Michel between 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Since the start of 2024, 51 measles cases have been reported in the province, according to the Quebec Health Ministry. 

People at risk of exposure should contact Info-Santé 811 as soon as possible to be evaluated and receive preventive treatment if necessary.