Kia ora e te whānau

There are cases of chickenpox in our school.       

This email is just to give you a heads up, particularly if your child hasn't been vaccinated for whatever reason, including if they have come to New Zealand after living overseas.

All children in New Zealand can have chickenpox immunisation at 15 months of age. It is part of the National Immunisation Schedule. Most people who have this vaccine will not get chickenpox. If an immunised person does get chickenpox, it is usually mild.

Here are some key points about chickenpox from the KidsHealth website, and you can read more information here if you need it:-

https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/chickenpox

https://info.health.nz/conditions-treatments/infectious-diseases/chickenpox

Key Points to Know about Chickenpox:

• chickenpox is a common childhood illness caused by a virus

• it is very easy to catch

• most cases of chickenpox are mild and children get better completely

• your child needs to see a doctor if they have a very high fever or are very ill, particularly if they become very drowsy, or are breathing fast or vomiting a lot

• time between exposure and sickness is 10-14 days after being exposed.

• children with chickenpox need to stay home from school - 1 week from appearance of rash, or until ALL blisters have dried.

Early symptoms:

Chickenpox can often start with the following symptoms:

• a fever

• a headache

• a runny nose

• a cough

• loss of appetite

• feeling tired