The number of confirmed cases of measles in Alberta’s south health zone has taken another big jump.

The latest numbers from Alberta Health show there were 46 new cases of measles confirmed over the weekend — and 44 of them were in the south health zone.

The other two cases were in northern Alberta.

Alberta has now seen a total of 606 confirmed cases of measles, with about three-quarters of them — 452 — in the province’s south zone, which includes the communities of Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Taber.

AHS said it’s possible the true number of cases is even larger because some cases are going undetected or unreported.

466 of the cases were in children under the age of 18.

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Due to the growing number of cases in the south, Alberta Health Services on Friday announced it is no longer issuing individual alerts each time there is an exposure of the extremely contagious virus.

Instead, AHS has issued a standing measles exposure advisory for the entire south health zone that reads “all individuals living, working, or attending school in, or travelling to, the South Zone are advised to be aware of the significant current risk for measles disease, and ensure immunizations are up to date.”

The latest information on the total number of cases in the province, along with symptoms, who is most at risk and information on vaccinations is available online at alberta.ca/measles.

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