After chickenpox outbreak at Asheville Waldorf, county quarantine order challenged in court

[TexasTowelie]

ASHEVILLE — First came the rash, then the quarantine — and with it, a legal challenge.

The late October outbreak of chickenpox at Asheville Waldorf School prompted Buncombe County health officials in early November to call for the quarantine of 104 of school's 152 students. Nearly 75 percent hadn't been vaccinated for the virus.

That order expired Tuesday, though it is unlikely to mark the end of county concerns at the private West Asheville school that serves toddlers through sixth graders. Buncombe health officials will continue to monitor conditions when students return from Thanksgiving break next week.

In a Nov. 1 order sent to the parents of unvaccinated children, Buncombe County Health Director Jannine Shaphard wrote that "the intent of this quarantine is to decrease the risk of transmission of the illness and protect the health of non-immune students, staff and community members."

Read more: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/11/20/chickenpox-asheville-waldorf-school-quarantine-court-challenge-religious-freedom-civil-liberities/2069844002/

[hlthe2b]

1. Chicken pox can be fatal, albeit rarely. But serious complications are not infrequent.

Severe complications caused by varicella include cerebellar ataxia, encephalitis, viral pneumonia, and hemorrhagic conditions. Other complications include septicemia, toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing fasciitis, osteomyelitis, bacterial pneumonia, and septic arthritis.

Anyone who has seen a child develop serious secondary infections or pneumonia and struggle for life in the hospital will never forgive these anti-vaxers.

Public health trumps. Their quarantine will be upheld.

[tblue37]

2. Chickenpox can also cause them to suffer from shingles later in life. nt

[agingdem]

3. I was 30 when I got chicken pox

pre vaccine... it's lousy for kids but it's devastating fo adults..40 years later I'm still experiencing the physical after-affects...permanent hearing loss, shingles, viral pneumonia, vestibular neuritis...Parents that don't vaccinate their children are lousy parents...

[tblue37]

4. According to the article, it was only partly upheld. nt

[CottonBear]

5. I have permanent facial scars from childhood chickenpox in the 1970s.

My child is vaccinated for everything, including chickenpox.

I am so thankful for modern medicine and for my child's health.