Five unvaccinated Terry Fox students were asked to stay home until April 24 to avoid measles infection or get shots to prevent the spread of the disease.
Today, Tuesday, the medical health officer for Fraser Health confirmed that the students' families had been contacted and the Port Coquitlam teens were either at home or were getting vaccinated.
"There's still a few students who are not immunized and whose parents have chosen that their child not be immunized. They will continue to be at home until their incubation is over, Dr. Michelle Murti said. "They realize their child is at risk, and they could put others at risk."
Fraser Health nurses spent three days going through the records of 1,500 students, and vaccinated approximately 160 to prevent the spread of the disease after a student came down with measles after a flight from China March 21.
RECORDS NOT TRACKED
Murti explained that Fraser Health doesn't track students' immunization records, except when school shots are given in Grade 6 and 9. So getting up to speed when measles was found at the school last week was a big job. "We need to know who's been exposed at that time It helps when everyone's records are up to date and we can go through this quickly as and easily," she explained.
Because vaccination documents aren't required when students enroll in school, parents had to find and submit their own records to the nurses, and in the case of international students, it was harder to track documents.
In fact, Murti suggested it might be a good idea if schools had the immunization records of international students on hand in case of an outbreak, even though it's not a requirement.
"It's harder to get information from parents if they aren't here, it takes a little bit longer," Murti noted.
10 PEOPLE DIAGNOSED
Letters went home to students last week alerting parents to the measles case and a notice was posted on the school website asking people to stay home if they had symptoms, including a fever, rash, red eyes, a cough and a runny nose.
People born before 1970 are protected against the disease but people born after that year who have never been vaccinated or never received a second dose of the measles vaccination got the shot. A booster shot is not harmful and could provide additional protection for those who are unsure about whether they are vaccinated, according to Fraser Health.
In all, 10 people from the China flight are known to have contracted measles, a few of them students attending Vancouver schools, as well as Terry Fox.
Superintendent Patricia Gartland said immunization records are not required because it's not an education issue but a health issue that is the responsibility of Fraser Health.
Meanwhile, a national registry of vaccination data is being recommended in the wake of a measles outbreak in Quebec. A paper released by the C.D. Howe institute called "A Shot in the Arm: How to Improve Vaccination Policy in Canada" found that vaccination rates vary across the country and a data base would be a good way to prevent and deal with disease outbreaks.
B.C.'s vaccination rate is about 86% per cent but a 95% rate is considered optimum for protective immunity.
with CP Files
