Measles-exposed school has 200 at-risk kids

A Steiner school in Perth at the centre of a potential measles outbreak has more than 200 unvaccinated students.

The exterior of the Perth Waldorf School.

A Steiner school in Perth at the centre of a potential measles outbreak has more than 200 unvaccinated students and has told parents in official documents they can decide whether to ­immunise their children.

The West Australian Health Department was yesterday ­attempting to arrange a special vaccination clinic to attend Perth Waldorf School, in the southern suburb of Bibra Lake, but it remained unclear if the school would agree to such a move.

Last week, a high school student from the school was diagnosed with measles after contracting the disease while on holiday in Europe. Before being diagnosed, and while still infectious, the unvaccinated student attended PWS, which includes preschool and primary school students as well as a playgroup for children as young as two.

The school has a catchment area across the Perth metropolitan area, prompting the Health Department to warn that ­additional cases of measles are likely across the city in coming weeks. About 50 per cent of the 420 students at Perth Waldorf School have not been vaccinated.

In its official primary school handbook for parents, the school says: “The school respects the parents’ freedom to decide for or against immunisation.”

Its enrolment guide tells parents they need to provide a range of documents, including “psychological assessments” and a birth certificate, but makes no mention of vaccination records.

A Health Department spokeswoman said the school was told to stop all unvaccinated students from attending school until there was no longer a risk of them ­developing measles and exposing additional children.

She said the department had made an offer to the school to vaccinate students through specially convened vaccination clinics.

Perth Walford School administrator Jean-Michel David did not respond to emailed questions about whether he would agree to allow the vaccinations clinics. But he said the school was working closely with the Health Department and the family and student involved in the measles case.

A WA Education Department spokeswoman said schools were able to request vaccination records of a child upon enrolment but they could not reject applications based on vaccination status.

“It is not mandatory for schools to request this information, but if it is requested it must be provided by the applicant,” she said. “Parents of unimmunised students and students with no immunisation records are advised that in the event of an outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease, their child may be prevented from attending school.”

In recent years there have been measles and whooping cough outbreaks at other Steiner schools in NSW and the ACT.

The West Coast Steiner School, in Perth’s north, does not require a copy of a student’s ­immunisation record.