Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Manitoba’s ongoing hepatitis A outbreak, which has claimed the lives of four people, has prompted a travel alert by the national public health agency of the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the alert on its website earlier this month, advising people of the situation. It does not advise them against travel to the province.
It’s listed as a Level 1 alert, the lowest of the agency’s four-tier travel notice system about global health risks. It essentially advises practising usual precautions for safety and hygiene, without the need for extreme or emergency measures.
“It’s just letting people know about an unusual rate of transmission right now,” said Cynthia Carr, a Winnipeg-based epidemiologist and founder of EPI research.
Carr said she can’t find any CDC warnings in the recent past related to travel to Manitoba, aside from during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is fairly unusual. But in a way, I think it’s a good thing to remind people about what is hepatitis A — that it is very contagious, how it can be transmitted,” she said.
“It is really important for people to understand that this can be very serious, [with] acute liver infection. Safe personal health practices is really important … but vaccination is ideal.”
As of June 4, there have been 784 reported cases of hepatitis A associated with the ongoing outbreak in Manitoba that began in April 2025, a provincial spokesperson told CBC News.
There have been four deaths and 165 people hospitalized, including eight to an intensive care unit.
The Manitoba outbreak initially affected several northern communities, but an increasing number of cases have been identified in Winnipeg. People experiencing homelessness have been particularly affected, the province said last month.
Winnipeg has had 186 reported cases so far.
Some people who get hepatitis A have no symptoms. Others can abruptly develop symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and jaundice.
People with mild symptoms often recover in a week or two, but the illness can be more severe in others, especially those with chronic liver disease. People who get a severe illness can have symptoms for several months, the province says.
Surprised by lack of measles alert
Carr said she’s more surprised there hasn’t been a warning related to the measles outbreak that has impacted Manitoba since early 2025, resulting in 919 confirmed cases and 108 probable cases so far.
That includes 600 confirmed cases and 79 probable in less than six months this year, according to provincial health data as of June 6.
The resurgence of measles led to Canada having its measles elimination status revoked last year.
Manitoba remains the country’s hot spot, accounting for nearly two-thirds of Canada’s confirmed cases, according to federal government health data.
“I thought maybe that [measles outbreak] would be an example of what would come up” in a CDC alert, said Carr. “Our elimination status is a very big deal in the health world.”
She posited that because the U.S. is also experiencing measles transmission, there was no need to single out Canada or Manitoba.
