The wave of measles is leveling off in Styria and there are no more patients in hospitals. After the holidays, however, the Graz health service has drawn up new rules for schoolchildren: if the disease breaks out, you can no longer go to class without vaccination.
A measles outbreak in recent days triggered the next stress test of the Styrian health system. New cases became known every day – a total of eight young patients had to be treated in the children’s clinic in Graz and in the LKH Leoben. “The situation has been stable since the weekend. There was not a single new case on Monday,” Daniela Goritschan of the Graz health department, who is responsible for epidemic hygiene and infection control, sees the wave leveling off.
There are currently 24 measles cases reported in the capital. But in the children’s clinic no one needs to be treated – we learned the same thing at the request of the LKH Leoben. “Suspicious cases keep coming to us. However, after a negative test, we were able to let all these people go home,” says Simone Pfandl-Pichler, spokeswoman for the Graz University Clinic.
New rules of the game after the holidays
Despite a slight relaxation, new rules have been in effect for all students in Graz since Monday. In an e-mail sent to all managements in the Mur metropolitan area, the health service specifies the new catalog of measures: In the event of a measles case in an educational institution, children who have been vaccinated against measles twice can continue to attend school. Those who have been vaccinated once “need urgently to be vaccinated a second time and allowed to continue to visit the facility.” from the authorities”, says Letter available to the “Krone”.
Teachers must retrieve vaccination status
In an emergency, ie when a case of measles becomes known, the vaccination status of all pupils must be checked – at least in Graz. Such an emergency plan has not yet been imposed by the health authorities in the other districts of Styria.
According to experts, vaccination is the only effective protection against a disease. “Measles is a highly contagious disease, which is why we really recommend the vaccination to everyone. Moreover, it is free for everyone,” says epidemic doctor Goritschan.
Source: Krone
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