newsletter

Adamstown Castle Educate Together – 11th March 2010 Newsletter
Please check our blog (updated every Thursday) & website for further updates www.acetns.ie
St. Patricks Day: The School will be closed on the 17th of March for our national holiday (St. Patrick’s Day). We are looking forward to an exciting week with our parade around ADAMSTOWN Cheili night in the hall etc. Please check the note sent to you earlier this week or check the blog.
Swine Flu Vaccination: The HSE has visited the school and the vaccination has been completed. If you did not have your child vaccinated and still wish to do so you can do it at the local health clinic or go to your local GP and put your child’s name down. This service is free of charge but you will need to have your child’s pps number.
More Medical Matters: This is a letter I received from the DES recently:
Recommended Action:

Please communicate with the parents and staff that:

a. A national measles outbreak is occurring
b. Non-immune children /staff are at risk of measles themselves
c. Non-immune children/staff put others in the school at risk
d. All children are recommended to have two doses of MMR vaccine and parents should ensure their child’s vaccinations are up to date.

What is measles?
Measles is a highly infectious serious disease characterised by high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes (conjunctivitis) and a generalised red rash that starts on head and moves down the body.
Anyone with measles is infectious from 4 days before to 4 days after rash onset.
Direct contact with a case is not needed for measles transmission to occur – airborne transmission of the virus (from coughing and sneezing) makes measles one of the most infectious viruses known to man.
Approximately 30% of measles cases have been hospitalised in this outbreak, and two children have required intensive care treatment. Fortunately there have been no deaths reported so far.

How can measles be prevented?
Vaccination with MMR vaccine is the only way to protect against measles
The first MMR dose should be given at 12 months of age, and the second dose at 4‐5 years of age. Unless medically contraindicated, all children 6 years and older should have already received two doses of MMR vaccine.
All staff born since 1978 who are not immune (either as a result of previous infection or vaccination) are at risk of measles during this outbreak.
If staff become infected they could infect children in the school, fellow staff or their own family.