http://origin.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_9207819[*QUOTE*]
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Whooping cough outbreak closes El Sobrante schoolBy Kimberly S. Wetzel
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Article Launched: 05/09/2008 12:00:02 PM PDT
On Friday, May 9, 2008, The East Bay Waldorf School in El Sobrante closed Friday because of a... [...]
Erik Ferry thought little of the sniffles and cough his 12-year-old daughter came down with in February.
But the coughs became more frequent and violent, and the bug hung on for days, then weeks.
Concerned it was more than just a cold, Ferry took his daughter to the doctor, and a dose of antibiotics cleared things up. Only later did he learn that several of the girl's classmates at the East Bay Waldorf School in El Sobrante had the same symptoms.
And it was only this month that Ferry, who lives in Berkeley, learned that a bout of pertussis, or whooping cough, was sweeping through the school like a bad rumor: Sixteen students have been diagnosed, and health officials suspect many more are infected.
"She was in and out of school, and a lot of other kids were, too," Ferry said Friday. "And no one knew what they were dealing with. Either several kids in her class got pertussis, or they got bronchitis, because it just didn't go away."
Contra Costa Health Services temporarily shut down the private East Bay Waldorf School on Friday in an effort to control the outbreak, which health officials say spread quickly because fewer than half the students at the school are immunized.
Students and staff will be allowed to return to school Monday, Contra Costa Public Health Director Wendel Brunner said, but all parents must prove their children are on antibiotics.
Students with symptoms will not be allowed to attend until they are feeling
better. Students whose parents refuse to put them on antibiotics cannot attend school for 21 days, the time it takes for a person to no longer be infectious.
Symptoms of whooping cough can last for months and include fever, runny nose, sneezing and a cough that increases in severity and could cause gagging or vomiting. The characteristic whooping noise for which the disease is named may or may not be heard.
School and health department officials said they have been trying to control the disease — affecting mostly kindergartners — since the first confirmed case in April. But Ferry said he believes the pertussis started making its way around the school in January, when several students initially got sick.
"Closing a school for an outbreak of pertussis is a very unusual action," Brunner said. "Normally, we're able to control pertussis cases in schools without closing the school; however, the situation in the East Bay Waldorf School is different. They have a very low rate of immunization among their students."
About 98 percent of students at other schools in the county — public and private — have been vaccinated. California law allows parents to opt out of immunizing their children for various reasons.
"We thank the Contra Costa Public Health Services group for their quick and diligent efforts, and we are in full support of this decision," East Bay Waldorf School Administrator Morgan Cleveland said in a prepared statement Friday. "We look forward to reopening school on Monday with the county's cooperation."
School officials alerted parents of the closure via phone and letter. An open house for prospective kindergartners and a scheduled weekend family camping trip were canceled, according to the school's Web site.
A spokesman said Friday that the school does not have a policy on immunizations, leaving that decision to parents.
Waldorf schools are small, private campuses throughout the world that teach based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. Waldorf teachers "strive to transform education into an art that educates the whole child — the heart and the hands, as well as the head," according to the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America Web site.
Parents whose children attend Waldorf schools are more inclined to believe in natural and alternative approaches to health, said John Fuller, an AWSNA employee based in Minneapolis, explaining why some may opt out of vaccinations.
"I think that families that are drawn to Waldorf education have a lifestyle that allows them to be open to alternative health solutions," Fuller said, adding that AWSNA does not have a policy on immunizations and does not govern individual schools.
Contra Costa Health Immunization Coordinator Erika Jenssen, parent of an 11-year-old at the school who has been immunized, said some parents site studies that indicate vaccinations may cause autism as a reason for opting out.
"I can't speak for parents' personal decisions," Jenssen said.
"There certainly is a high level of concern at the East Bay Waldorf School; everyone wants to protect everyone in the school community and also the at-large community. The dialog has been opened about the importance of vaccines.
"We hope that the parents of Waldorf School will reconsider their choices about immunization."
Ferry said his daughter had received two of the three shots needed to protect against pertussis and was due for the third when she fell ill. He said he doesn't blame parents who haven't immunized their children and credits the school for handling the matter professionally.
"As far as I'm concerned, the school has done a diligent job of helping people," he said.
Reach Kimberly S. Wetzel at 510-262-2798 or at kwetzel@bayareanewsgroup.com.
MORE INFORMATION:
To learn about whooping cough, go to
www.cchealth.org or call the county's health information line at 888-959-9911
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Und die Eltern begreifen noch immer nicht, was für ein Verbrechen sie an ihren Kindern begehen.
Renate Ratlos hat recht:
Für das Grundrecht der Kinder, ihre Eltern zurückgeben zu dürfen!Schade, sehr, sehr schade, daß die toten Kinder das nicht mehr können...
.