Staff at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) are urging people to get the measles vaccine.
Adam Topp, CKHA president and CEO, spoke with members of the media on Monday about the impact the highly contagious disease is having on the hospital.
He said they've had roughly 200 people visit the emergency department over the last three months. Most of these people visited in March when the Measles Information Centre was operating at the CKHA.
Topp explained the number of visitors hasn't been overwhelming, however, it still puts a strain on staff due to how contagious the virus can be.
"We do need to put them in a negative pressure room so we're not creating a potential exposure of all our patients in the waiting room," he said.
According to the CKHA, only 44 actually tested positive with two needing to be admitted.
Caen Suni, CKHA Vice President of Clinical Programs and Operations, mentioned that the impact on the hospital every time someone comes in because of the measles is much more harmful than people may think.
"It's a pressure on the (emergency department), it disrupts care, and puts staff and other patients at risk," he explained.
Because of this, Suni is urging people to reconsider their stance on getting vaccinated. Despite a vast majority of people being vaccinated, Suni noted it's clearly not enough since there's been nearly 170 cases since last October.
Meanwhile, Topp is expecting a busy summer dealing with potential measles cases.
"We expect (the numbers) to stay about the same over the summer, that's what public health tells us," he added.
This is despite a drop in positive cases over the last two weeks across Chatham-Kent. According to the latest Public Health Ontario (PHO) report, there have only been two positive cases since May 20.
However, Chatham-Kent Public Health remains fourth in total cases and second in infection rate among public health units in Ontario.