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Show Measles Gould Reach PC Schools According to tne Mate Division of Health, the pre- sence of large numbers of susceptible children in Utah schools, presents an unacceptable unaccept-able risk to the community for ' outbreaks of various preventable prevent-able diseases. These diseases include polio, diptheria, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella. This' potential is evident with , the recent increase of measles cases in Salt Lake County. There have been 30 cases of measles reported this year," with 11 reported in the last week. The possibility s of this measles outbreak reacing Park City is very high, considering the commuting that exists between the two areas. Because of this problem, there is a Utah State law and a Park City School District policy requiring that the schools have on file a properly completed "Utah Certificate of Immunizations ' card for ; each student. The.- School District officials along with the Health Dept. have been conducting an immunization survey of all students in Park City Although the response has been good, there are still many students who are not adequately immunized. There :u are approximately 225 students stud-ents whose records are not complete andor who need immunizations. - The most frequent problems being found in t this school district are 1 ) no records of immunizations; 2) students needing boosters the Td booster (tetanus, diphtheria), which needs to be repeated even ten years and the polio booster; and 3; students who received the measles immunizations immuni-zations prior to 1970 and need v a repeat. V:' -'.V ;vr The School District policy states that the school nurse shall contact noncomplying parents or guardians on at least three different occasions. If the student is still not in compliance, the policy requires requir-es the school to send a registered letter advising that if the immunization forms are not completed ttfe student may face exclusion from school. There are approximately approximat-ely 70 families who have been contacted three times. The schools are asking those families who receive the registered letter of possible exclusion, to comply with the policy by March 31. The Health Dept. will be having a special clinic to help immunize the students in Park City on Wed., March 26 from 2-5:00pm at the Health Dept.'s office located in Marsac School. . If you have any questions, please contact the Health Dept. at 649-9072. The economic impact of communicable disease outbreaks, out-breaks, in terms of medical costs, student and employee absentees can be ' extensive and far exceeds the cost of immunization programs designed de-signed for prevention. Even when a small number of children must be temporarily excluded for noncompliance with the school policy, the loss of income to the "school system is insignificant in comparison to the impact of outbreaks. Because of these reasons and for the health of the student, the Health Dept. "along with the School Board, encourage families to cooperate with this 'program. If you have any questions concerning your child's immunization im-munization records, please contact the Health Dept. at 649-9072. |