The Saskatchewan Health Authority has confirmed there are now six cases of measles in the province.

Dr. David Torr with the SHA says the newest case is unrelated to the previous five cases and comes from someone who got home from a trip through Mexico and the United States about a week ago. They live in the southwest corner of Saskatchewan.

“We’ve had two confirmed cases in the southeast, two confirmed cases in the southwest, one confirmed case in the northwest, and now and additional confirmed case in the southwest.”

Dr. Torr is highly encouraging the public to get the measles vaccine; however, the SHA is not making it a requirement like some schools in the United States.

“Now, more of late, we have less folks immunized than we used to have before. We need 95 per cent of the population, at least, to be immunized to have what we call heard immunity.”

Although not a preventative measure, Dr. Torr says vitamin A will also help with the effects of measles.

“We actually do many times include vitamin A in our treatments because vitamin A helps a lot with the eyes. Measles affects the whole body, but very much targets the eyes and affects sight, so vitamin A is used.”

Symptoms of the disease include a fever, red eyes, a runny nose, a cough, and the red blotchy rash. If you have any of these symptoms, the SHA advises you to Call HealthLine 811 for instructions on how to proceed.