Suspected measles case closes Levin East School

Thursday, 23rd of June 2016

Suspected measles case closes Levin East School

GEORGIA FORRESTER

Last updated 17:06 June 23 2016

 

A suspected measles case has forced the temporarily closure of a Levin school.

A suspected measles case has forced the temporary closure of a Levin school.

Levin East School will be closed on Friday after a suspected measles case was reported to MedCentral Public Health Service.

If confirmed it would bring the total number of cases in the MidCentral area to 18. One suspected case closed Palmerston North Girls High School for a day early this month while both Waiopehu College and Levin Intermediate each closed for a day in May following several confirmed cases among students.

Levin East School principal Hamish Ruawai said the primary school was notified after the person involved went home and found a rash.

"The person involved went home found that they had a rash and then of course things happened from there and we took the necessary action."

At this stage it was a suspected case and the school would be told the test results on Friday afternoon he said.

Ruawai said if the case was confirmed all immunisation documentation of the 430 primary school students and about 17 young members of staff would have to be reviewed.

The school was expected to be open on Monday. If the case was confirmed then students and staff who had not been immunised would have to remain home he said.

The school was communicating with parents through their cellphone app website newsletter and on Facebook.

He said the parent conferences which were planned for Thursday night were postponed and the schools popular quiz night which was planned for Friday night was also postponed.

He said the Levin community had been handling with the measles outbreak well and communication between schools and parents in the community was strong. 

Medical Officer of Health Dr Rob Weir said they were following up on those who had come into contact with the suspected case.

They would be assessed to determine if they were at risk of developing measles themselves.

Weir said the situation was being discussed with the school and information on the immunity status of staff and students had been sought.

"Those people identified as non-immune will be asked to stay in isolation until they can either prove their immunity or laboratory testing indicates this suspect case does not have measles."

The school decided it was best to close on while that information was obtained he said.  

"We recognise there will be disruption to the school and the community but we are doing everything possible in conjunction with the school to stop it spreading."

Weir said measles was a very infectious disease. Anyone who was not immune was at risk if they came in to contact with the disease.

It spreads from person to person through the air via breathing coughing and sneezing and contact with those secretions. 

The illness usually starts between 10 and 14 days after contact with the measles virus.

Measles symptoms include: fever runny nose cough and sore red eyes. After 3-5 days a rash appears on the head and spreads down the body. The disease is contagious from just before symptoms begin until about five days after the onset of the rash. 

"These cases remind us that measles can occur at any time. Vaccination is the best way for people to protect themselves against measles and is free to those who need it. You can protect both yourself and the community by getting vaccinated."

Weir said anyone who thinks they may have measles should stay away from work school or public places.

"If you think you might have measles I recommend you contact your GP (by phone first) or Healthline on 0800 611 116 for more advice. It is very important you tell your GP that you think you might have measles before going in to the surgery."