If you visited the University of Alberta Hospital or Stollery Children's Hospital in late February, health officials want to hear from you and the broader picture makes this worth paying attention to.
The Government of Alberta issued a public alert March 4 after a measles case was linked to multiple locations inside the two connected hospital buildings at 8440 112 Street NW. It is the latest exposure notice in a province that has spent the better part of a year fighting one of the worst measles outbreaks in Canadian history.
Alberta Became Ground Zero
The numbers are hard to wrap your head around. By the summer of 2025, Alberta a province of five million people was reporting more measles cases than the United States, a country nearly 70 times its size. The outbreak started in late 2024 when an infected traveller arrived in New Brunswick, but it was Alberta where the virus took hold hardest, tearing through unvaccinated communities in the north and south of the province.
In November 2025, Canada lost the measles elimination status it had held since 1998. That designation, granted by the Pan American Health Organization, requires 12 consecutive months of interrupted transmission to reclaim. Canada cannot get it back before November 2027 at the earliest.
2026 has not brought relief. As of February 20, Alberta had recorded 73 confirmed cases this year, spread across every health zone, with four people hospitalized and one in the ICU. Nine of those cases were in the Edmonton Zone. Health officials have warned that the true number is likely higher not everyone with measles gets tested or seeks care.
Where and When
The exposure spans two days at the 112 Street NW hospital complex.
On February 25, several clinics were affected. The Stollery Children's Hospital Cleft Lip and Palate Clinic, Audiology Clinic, and the U of A Hospital's Videonystagmography Services all saw potential exposure between 8:35 and 11:10 a.m. Anyone who passed through the 112th Street main entrance, used the north elevators, or walked the second floor north pedway to 2E between 9:10 and 11:25 a.m. is also included. The Stollery's Edmonton Oilers Ambulatory Clinic, ENT Clinic, and the U of A's Pulmonary Function Lab round out the February 25 locations, with exposure running from 9:25 a.m. to 1 p.m.
February 28 hits the emergency departments. The Stollery Children's Hospital ED was listed with a wide exposure window 5:20 a.m. to 11:50 p.m. The University of Alberta Hospital ED ran from 10:25 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Who Is at Risk
Anyone born in 1970 or later who visited those locations during those windows and hasn't had two documented doses of a measles-containing vaccine needs to pay attention. Adults born before 1970 are generally considered immune measles was so common before widespread vaccination that most people in that generation were exposed naturally.
The virus is not forgiving. More than 90% of unimmunized people who come into contact with measles will get it. You don't need to be in the same room as an infected person at the same time the virus can survive in the air for up to two hours after they've left.
What It Looks Like
Measles is easy to dismiss early on. It starts with a high fever 38.3°C or above along with a cough, runny nose, and red eyes. The rash doesn't appear until three to seven days after the fever starts, usually behind the ears and on the face first, then spreading down the body. On lighter skin it's red and blotchy. On darker skin it can look purple or deeper than the surrounding skin and is sometimes difficult to see at all.
What to Do
Do not go directly to a clinic or emergency room. Call the provincial measles hotline at 1-844-944-3434 first health officials need to know before you arrive to prevent further spread. A vaccine given within 72 hours of exposure can still prevent infection. Babies under one year, pregnant people, and anyone with a compromised immune system may qualify for immunoglobulin within six days.
Unsure whether you've had two doses? The hotline can help. Albertans 14 and older can also check through My Health Record. Texting "Measles" to 88111 gets basic information sent to your phone.
On Vaccines
Alberta's measles vaccine is free through the province's publicly funded immunization program. Two doses are recommended the first at one year, the second at 18 months. The vaccine has a decades-long safety record and is highly effective.
The outbreak that pushed Canada off the elimination list was driven largely by low vaccine coverage in specific communities. Until those gaps close, exposure alerts like this one will keep coming.
Sources
Government of Alberta Public alert for measles exposure (March 4, 2026): alberta.ca/news
Government of Alberta Measles data and statistics: alberta.ca/measles-data-and-statistics
Government of Alberta Measles information: alberta.ca/measles
Alberta Health Services Measles exposures in Alberta: albertahealthservices.ca/msl/page19108.aspx
