?

Ottawa Public Health is confirming that a person who contracted the measles while travelling has spread the disease to four more people in the Ottawa area.

The city’s health authority said last month one person reported contracting the disease in early December after travelling internationally. it was the first reported case of the measles in the city since 2002.

While most people have been immunized from the measles, Ottawa Public Health has urged residents to ensure their immunization is up to date.

The disease spreads through coughing, sneezing or talking, Ottawa Public Health said. Symptoms include fever, cough and tiny white spots on the mouth, followed by a severe rash.

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa Public Health’s associate medical officer of health, said the rarity of the disease makes it more difficult to recognize.

“It often starts with feeling like a bad cold…then moving a couple days later into a rash that starts on the head and spreads downwards,” said Etches.

“It is something that did result in hospitalization for the first case that came into the country, and it is something that makes people feel very sick. sometimes there can be infection of the brain, so it is something we want to prevent,” she said.

Etches said anyone who was born after 1970 and has not had two doses of the measles vaccine after their first birthday are susceptible to the disease.

Pregnant women, people with compromised immune systems, and children under the age of one are most at risk from the disease. Ottawa Public Health is encouraging anyone who believes they may have come in contact with the disease to notify a physician.