Hundreds may have been exposed to measles during NATO conference in Montreal

Montreal Public Health says hundreds of people may have been exposed to measles during a recent NATO conference in the city.

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The agency says one of the participants in the military alliance’s parliamentary assembly, which took place in Montreal last month, received a measles diagnosis after returning to their home country and would have been contagious while they were in the city.

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The agency is warning people may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease during sessions at the Palais des congrès on Nov. 23, 24 and 25, as well as during private events and at downtown hotels that were frequented by conference participants, including the infected person.

It said in an alert sent to health-care workers people at Trudeau airport may have also been exposed on Nov. 26, along with passengers on an Air Canada flight to Toronto’s Pearson Airport and an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Rome, Italy.

Public Health says the measles virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after a contagious person has left an enclosed space.

A highly effective vaccine exists against measles, which was declared eliminated in Canada in 1998.

This is the first report of a contagious case of measles in Montreal since July, Public Health said. An outbreak of measles in early March — initially associated with international travel — was the first time since 2019 that the disease spread in Quebec. That outbreak was quickly brought under control by Public Health.

Officials say the infected conference participant was not vaccinated against the disease.

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