JOLIETTE, Que. — The number of confirmed measles cases in Quebec is up to 136 from 119 earlier in the week.
Health officials northeast of Montreal are bracing for even more cases.
They said in an update today the 136 are all people who have not been vaccinated against the disease.
The cases are centred around one religious group from the region, La Mission de L'Esprit-Saint.
Authorities have said the outbreak is part of one chain of transmission that started when a person with the order became infected at Disneyland in California and returned to the province.
A vaccination program began Thursday at a school in Joliette that had been visited by a child who had measles.
Health officials said 21 pupils were still forbidden from attending the school — three because their parents didn't want them to be vaccinated and 18 because they were absent or didn't have the proper documentation.
This year, there have also been 18 cases of measles confirmed in Ontario, all in the Toronto and Niagara regions, and one in Manitoba.
Measles is highly contagious and causes fever, a distinctive red rash and a runny nose. While most people who become infected will only experience an unpleasant illness, the disease can have more serious complications in some cases, particularly in young children.
