Another measles exposure reported at Fort St. John ER

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Northern Health has reported an overnight measles exposure at the Fort St. John Hospital emergency department. 

In a Facebook post on January 26th in the Fort St. John and Area group, Northern Health warned of a measles exposure at the Fort St. John Hospital emergency room on 112th Avenue from 11:35 p.m. January 17th  to 10:10 p.m. January 18th.

Northern Health cautioned anyone who may have been at the ER during the exposure should monitor for symptoms of measles, which include a cough, fever, runny nose, red, light-sensitive eyes and a rash spreading from the face and neck to the upper body. 

If symptoms begin to appear, Northern Health asks that residents seek testing from their primary care provider. 

According to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), the highly infectious virus can spread through water droplets expelled by an infected person’s breath when they sneeze or cough.  Measles is especially dangerous to vulnerable individuals.

Individuals can begin experiencing symptoms up to seven to 12 days after being exposed, and infections result in one in 10 people requiring hospitalization with health complications such as pneumonia and inflammation in the brain, sometimes leading to death. 

The BCCDC has previously stated there have been no measles-related deaths reported in B.C. since the start of the provincial outbreak in 2025. 

As of the BCCDC’s January 22nd weekly report, the province has reported as many as 435 cases of measles since June 2025, with 82.5 per cent of those recorded by Northern Health. 

See all Energeticcity.ca‘s coverage of the measles outbreak in northeast B.C., here.