Visiting a farm is an enjoyable and educational experience for many children, particularly as we are in lambing and calving season. However, visiting a farm carries a risk of catching infection directly from animals or the surrounding environment.  

Infection can be picked up from the animal’s body, its poo or from areas where animals have recently been. To avoid illness, good hand hygiene and only eating in designated areas is particularly important in these settings. Please click on the link for further information on staying safe whilst visiting farms. 

Measles cases in the UK and in Hertfordshire are rising and we border other geographic regions that are also seeing a rise in measles cases. Further cases and outbreaks in Hertfordshire are likely as the uptake of the Measles Mumps Rubella Vaccination (MMR) in the county is lower than recommended.   

 Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences, with 1 in 5 cases being hospitalised and 1 in 15 suffering serious complications. Measles spreads quickly from person to person, especially in settings such as schools. Spending more than 15 minutes in direct contact with someone infected with measles is sufficient to transmit the virus. A child with measles will infect almost all unvaccinated children they have contact with.   

Measles is spread through coughing and sneezing, close personal contact, or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. For more information about measles and the symptoms, see Measles - NHS (www.nhs.uk) 

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the signs, symptoms, and the actions to be taken if you become aware of an outbreak of scarlet fever at your school or nursery.  

Signs and symptoms: scarlet fever is a common childhood infection caused by Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A streptococcus (GAS). The early symptoms of scarlet fever include sore throat, headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting. After 12 to 48 hours the characteristic red, pinhead rash develops, typically first appearing on the chest and stomach, then rapidly spreading to other parts of the body, and giving the skin a sandpaper-like texture. The scarlet rash may be harder to spot on darker skin, although the 'sandpaper' feel should be present. Patients typically have flushed cheeks and pallor around the mouth. This may be accompanied by a ‘strawberry tongue’. As the child improves peeling of the skin can occur.  

Infection control advice: In schools and nurseries it is recognised that infections can be spread through direct physical contact between children and staff and through shared contact with surfaces such as tabletops, taps, toys and handles. During periods of high incidence of scarlet fever there may also be an increase in outbreaks in schools, nurseries, and other childcare settings.  

As per national guidance on infection control - Health protection in education and childcare settings - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) - children and adults with suspected scarlet fever should be excluded from nursery / school / work for 24 hours after the commencement of appropriate antibiotic treatment. If a child/adult does not receive antibiotics, they should be excluded from school for the duration of the infectious period, which is between 2 and 3 weeks. Good hygiene practice such as hand washing and discarding of used tissues in a bin remains the most important step in preventing and controlling spread of infection. 

Whooping cough can affect people of all ages but particularly serious for young infants, those that attend nurseries and key stage 1. Vaccine uptake levels in pregnant women, babies and young children have fallen in recent years across England and as such we are seeing an increase in the number of cases of whooping cough. For signs and symptoms see here Whooping Cough - Signs and Symptoms   Vaccination in pregnancy is key to passively protecting babies before they can be directly protected by the infant vaccine programme.  

Getting the whooping cough vaccine in pregnancy is a highly effective way to protect babies in the first few months following birth. 

Given the drop in vaccination levels and the rise in cases, UKHSA is urging parents to check that their children are vaccinated against whooping cough, which is offered to all infants at 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age (as part of the 6-in-1 combination vaccine) with an additional dose included in the pre-school booster vaccine. If there is any evidence that the Whooping Cough or the general childhood vaccination is incomplete, advise staff, parents/carers and anyone associated with the school community to consult their GP for catch up vaccines, which can be done at any age.