communicable diseases

Wilson School Health Office

Communicable Diseases
Information

Please assess your child’s level of wellness before sending him/her to school. Your cooperation in this regard will help stop the spread of infection among students and staff.

The following chart might help parents make decisions regarding a child’s return to school, following a communicable disease:

Disease	Incubation	Isolation	Period of Communicability	Report to	Return to School
Chicken Pox	2 to 3 weeks commonly 13 to 17 days	7 days	1 day before eruption of lesions to 6 days after first crop of vesicles	School Nurse	Not before 8^th day. Skin clear and vesicles dry, or upon written release from MD
German Measles(Rubella)	14 to 21 days	4 days	7 days before and at least 5 days after onset of rash	School Nurse; Board of Health	Skin clear, but not before 5^th day after rash onset.
Measles (Rubeola)	7 to 14 days	4 days after rash	2 to 4 days before rash onset to 1 to 5 days after onset	School Nurse; Board of Health	On written MD release, but not sooner than 5^th day after rash onset
Mumps	2 to 3 weeks commonly 18 days	9 days from onset of swelling	Immediately before and after swelling begins	School Nurse; Board of Health	10^th day from onset of swelling, sooner if swelling has subsided and MD release
Strep Throat and Scarlet Fever	1 to 3 days	24 to 48 hours after treatment is initiated	While untreated to 24 hours after treatment initiated	School Nurse	On MD release; no sooner than 24 hours after treatment initiated
Conjunctivitis	24 to 72 hours	Exclude during acute stage	During active infection	School Nurse	On MD release
Ringworm	4 to 10 days	Exclude during PE (gym) and physical activities exposing others to rash	While lesions are present and visible spores persist on contaminated materials	School Nurse	On MD release
Fifth’s Disease	4 to 20 days	Isolation Unnecessary- ALERT pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals	Before symptoms present	School Nurse	No exclusion
Scabies	2 to 4 weeks before onset of itching	24 hours after treatment	Skin to skin contact with infected individual	School Nurse	No sooner than 24 hours after treatment is initiated
Pediculosis	Varies	Until clear of lice	While live lice/nits present	School Nurse	When treated and clear of live lice
Impetigo	Commonly 4 to 10 days	On contact	24 hours after treatment	School Nurse	On release of physician
Coxsackie	3 to 6 days	Contact with stool and nasopharyngeal secretions	3 to 5 days	School Nurse	When fever free
Herpes Zoster	10 to 21 days	Contact with fluid from lesions	When lesions crusted	School Nurse	On release of MD