It is unclear whether the students are related to each other. Barbara Cole, the director of disease control for Riverside County, said a school nurse notified the health department of the rare disease on Friday, but it could take weeks to get tests results back to confirm whether the children indeed have leprosy.
“We have not idenfied any risk at the school and it’s very difficult to transmit to others,” said Cole. Leprosy is associated with disfiguring skin sores and peeling skin. The disease is spread through mucus after having close and repeated contact with an infected person. It is easily treatable with antibiotics, even though most of the population is immune to it.
YouTube link.
Jurupa Valley Unified Superintendent Elliott Duchon says classrooms have been decontaminated and the students in question are not in school. “For parents, they need to make a decision for their children but we’re not recommending any precautions,” said Duchon. “There is not a risk at this time.” The investigation is ongoing.
3 comments:
Yet some of the same California parents who are worried about their child contracting a treatable disease refuse to vaccinate their children from other diseases.
They believe a study of 5 children by a doctor who had his license yanked in the UK rather than the tons of evidence attesting to the efficacy of vaccines, thereby endangering not only their own children, but other children as well.
Ugh, parents "demanding answers." The school went above and beyond in notifying parents about a disease that is largely misunderstood and easily treatable, and yet still parents still feel a right to know personal medical information they're not entitled to.
Anti-vaccination proselytizers are, of course, are morons, but unfortunately I think there are likely many pro-vaccination folks in the complaining parents, because people who can't override our chimpanzee brains' compulsions to protect their children at all costs in light of actual scientific evidence make up a significant portion of the breeding public.
Ask any given complainant what they think leprosy is and they'll probably start talking about people's noses or fingers rotting away and falling off.
Post a Comment