Measles is continuing to spread in Manitoba, and the province’s pharmacists are asking to take a jab in the fight against the once-eliminated virus.

Manitoba has reported the most measles cases so far this year, according to Canada’s Health Infobase weekly report from March 30, with 392 cases of the virus reported in the province.

Compared to second place Alberta, there were 183 more cases reported in the eastern Prairie province. Manitoba’s neighbours, Saskatchewan and Ontario, saw five and 10 cases, respectively.

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In combination with the measles surge in recent years, exposure events are popping up across Manitoba, with one being reported out of a Winnipeg Ikea last Wednesday by Manitoba’s health ministry.

To prevent the spread, the provincial health organization as well as Pharmacists Manitoba are reiterating the importance of vaccination, with the latter group calling for pharmacists to join the defence by being permitted to administer measles-containing vaccines.

“We need an all-hands-on-deck approach,” said Gayle Romanetz, the president of the pharmacists’ association, in a news release.

“A systemic, province-led approach — with aligned communication, data sharing, and oversight — can ensure pharmacist involvement strengthens Canada’s ongoing goal towards 95 per cent vaccination coverage for measles,” explained Cynthia Carr, an epidemiologist who is also the principal consultant for EPI Research Inc., in the same release.

The vast majority of residents being vaccinated creates herd immunity. In communities with low immunization rates, the highly contagious virus can spread rapidly after being introduced, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

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