An official with Lambton Public Health says it's hard to predict what the local measles situation will be like when children return to school in September.
Health Protection Supervisor Lori Lucas said, as of July 29, there have been 20 cases reported in Lambton County.
"We never know what's going to be upon us when it comes to back-to-school," Lucas said. "But, we do know that Lambton County has very high measles vaccination rates among our school age children, which greatly reduces that risk of widespread outbreak."
She said the "strong layer of protection" keeps the community as a whole safe.
"But, we do know that anytime large groups of children or people get together returning to school there's always some risk of spread of any infectious diseases," Lucas said.
She said the risk is higher for those not fully immunized or too young to receive certain immunizations.
"I think at Lambton Public Health it's important for us to continue to monitor the situation closely and remind families to keep their children's vaccinations up to date and then those basic principles that we learned prior about staying home when you're sick, practicing good hand hygiene, are good ways to prevent the spread of disease," Lucas said.
She said they're closely monitoring neighbouring communities with higher cases.
"We're always connecting with our regional partners and province to ensure a coordinated and timely response should any of our local risk situation change," Lucas said. "According to some of our data from the 2023-2024 school year, our measles [vaccination] coverage is about 90 per cent for seven year olds and 96.5 per cent for the 17-year-old population. Both of those are above the provincial average. So, pretty good overall locally."
The Middlesex-London Health Unit recently informed community members of four additional measles exposures just east of Sarnia.
There was one exposure in Kerwood, at Grace Canadian Reformed Church between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., on July 13.
Three exposures were reported in Strathroy; at Walmart on July 14 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Real Canadian Superstore on July 15 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and Canadian Tire on July 16 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Huron Perth Public Health has recorded 278 cases since the measles outbreak began last October.
The Windsor Essex County Health Unit recently reported an uptick in the measles virus in wastewater surveillance.