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There is a Measles outbreak in Canterbury at the moment. All schools have been requested to ensure that you are notified of the following statement from the Ministry of Health:
Children who are not immunised against measles risk being sent home from school.
The warning comes amid growing concerns about a potential epidemic, with the number of notified measles cases this year already seven times higher than the total number of cases last year.
The ministry said in a statement that infected students and teachers would be excluded from school for seven days from the appearance of the rash.
Those who were not immunised and were exposed to infected people would be excluded from school for 14 days from their last contact, the ministry said. The ministry's chief adviser for child and youth, Pat Tuohy, said it was important for parents to get their children immunised.
"Measles is a highly infectious notifiable disease, with serious complications including ear infections, pneumonia and encephalitis or inflammation of the brain," Dr Tuohy said.
"We are really concerned that the current low immunisation levels mean many children are vulnerable to measles and may get very sick from this disease."
Dr Tuohy said if a child who was not immunised came into contact with someone who was infected, there was more than a 90 percent chance they would catch measles.
Could all parents and caregivers please check that immunisations are up-to-date. The Ministry of Health requires students who have no proven immunity to measles (through immunisation or previous exposure) to be sent home if there is a measles outbreak in their class. Immunisation is free. Once immunised, 90 to 95 per cent of people are protected from measles.
Under the Health (Infectious and Notifiable Diseases) Regulations 1966 (Section 14), a student or teacher with measles must stay away from school for seven days from the appearance of the rash. Unimmunised students, or those with no immunity to measles, who have been close contacts of a measles case during the infectious stages will be excluded from school for 14 days from their last contact. This exclusion also applies to students taking part in sporting events. |
