(Update: 11/29/18) The chicken pox outbreak that began at an Asheville private school in late October is far from over according to the Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services. The latest numbers show 37 students at the Asheville Waldorf School along with 4 people in the community have contracted the virus. Health officials are not releasing details about the additional cates, saying only rhat they are connected to the outbreak at the school .
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a chicken pox outbreak is not declared over until 42 days have passed without a new case.
In a statement on its website, the Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services says based on the timing of the most recent case in the community, the outbreak will continue into 2019. The state health department says it's the largest chicken pox outbreak in the NC since the vaccine was introduced in 1995.
The Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services says the chicken pox outbreak at an Asheville private school has now spread to more than 30 students. (update: 11/19/2018 - 36) And as BPR’s Helen Chickering reports, the school has a history of high vaccine exemption rates.