Patrons at a Coquitlam hotel and restaurant may have been exposed to the measles virus, according to a news release from Fraser Health.
Anyone that attended the Ramada (631 Lougheed Hwy.) or the Sun Star Restaurant inside the hotel on Sunday between 8:30 a.m. and noon is being urged to review their immunization history and watch for signs of the virus. Shoppers who were at Lougheed Mall between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday may have also been exposed.
“If you are unvaccinated, pregnant and/or immunosuppressed and you may have been exposed, consult with your physician,” Fraser Health said in the release. “If you develop measles symptoms, please call ahead to your doctor's office and tell them that you think you may have measles to allow your doctor to take precautions to protect other patients for when you visit.”
This is the 27th confirmed case of measles in the province to date this year.
Some travellers may have also been exposed if they were on flight JL018 from Tokyo to Vancouver or in the International Terminal at the Vancouver International Airport between 10:25 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 13.
Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed a few days later by a rash that starts on the face and spreads to the chest. Severe complications from measles can include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), convulsions (seizures), deafness, brain damage, and death. People are infectious to others from four days before to four days after the rash starts.
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
