SCHOOL LEADERS FROWN ON FOODS COOKED AT HOME : HEPATITIS SCARE BRINGS UP ISSUE.Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer The Antelope Valley's biggest elementary school elementary school: see school. districts prohibit or discourage home-cooked food at school parties, specifically to prevent the type of situation that last week exposed California City pupils to hepatitis. While state law does not specifically bar home-cooked food in classrooms, Lancaster and Palmdale school districts have written policies forbidding the practice, and Westside Union School District administrators say they strongly discourage it, though there is no formal district policy. ``We do not allow foods prepared at home to be brought in,'' said Mary Overton, Palmdale School District's director of child nutrition. ``We only allow store products that are wrapped.'' The Lancaster School District Lancaster School District may refer to:
``Any product that is not prepared by the cafeteria must come from a restaurant or store and must be packaged food,'' said Susan Davis Susan A. Davis (born April 13, 1944), is an American politician who has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing California's 53rd congressional district (map). , Lancaster School District spokeswoman. Westside Union School District officials say they discourage home-prepared food in the class. ``It's our practice that we discourage food being brought in to the class that was prepared in a private kitchen,'' said Lori Ordway-Peck, Westside's business manager. Also discouraged is the handling, distribution and serving of food prepared at home, Ordway-Peck said. The state Education Code does not address the issue, said Roger Wolfertz, deputy general counsel with the state Department of Education. ``Districts can make their own rules about bringing food into the class,'' Wolfertz said. ``If it were for sale, it would be different. Then you have competition with a cafeteria.'' In an attempt to ward off further spread of hepatitis A virus Noun 1. hepatitis A virus - the virus causing hepatitis A enterovirus - any of a group of picornaviruses that infect the gastrointestinal tract and can spread to other areas (especially the nervous system) , Kern County health officials plan to immunize im·mu·nize v. 1. To render immune. 2. To produce immunity in, as by inoculation. im 3,000 students in the Mojave Unified School District A unified school district is a school district which includes both primary school (kindergarten through middle school or junior high) and high school (grades 9-12). In Illinois, these districts are called unit school districts. . The action comes after 10 cases of the disease have been reported in the California City area since June, and a Nov. 26 incident at Robert P. Ulrich Elementary School in which a mother found out she was infected with hepatitis A Hepatitis A Definition Hepatitis A is an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, the hepatitis A virus (HAV). It varies in severity, running an acute course, generally starting within two to six weeks after contact with the virus, and lasting no after she prepared turkey for a class party for 24 pupils and some parents. The students and other people known to have been exposed were contacted by Kern County health officials and advised to go to their health-care provider to get an immune globulin Immune globulin Serum containing antibodies against a specific infection. Mentioned in: Maternal to Fetal Infections shot, an antibody against the virus that will prevent infection in people who have been exposed. ``She was a parent volunteer that came in to assist,'' said Penelope Swenson, assistant superintendent Assistant Superintendent, or Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), was a rank used by police forces in the British Empire. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held by a European officer, most of whom joined the police at this rank. at the Mojave Unified School District. Kern County deputy public health officer Dr. Portia Choi said the woman had been showing hepatitis symptoms, went to see a doctor the afternoon of the party and got test results a few days later confirming she had the ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. , a highly infectious viral disease that affects the liver. The woman called school district officials to inform them she was infected, said Swenson, who added ``She behaved very responsibly.'' Swenson said the Mojave district presently has no edict A decree or law of major import promulgated by a king, queen, or other sovereign of a government. An edict can be distinguished from a public proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute into effect whereas a public proclamation is no more than a declaration of a law barring food from home in the classroom. ``That is something that we will have to visit,'' Swenson said. ``The food is usually cookies or something of that nature.'' The vaccinations will be offered to youngsters ages 2 to 18 in January, and permission will be required from parents and guardians. Information about when and at what schools the shots will be administered will be forthcoming, officials said. The recent rash of California City cases are being attributed to poor hygiene, Kern County health officials said. Causing an inflammation of the liver, hepatitis A is highly infectious, carried in the feces and spread through poor hygiene habits. It is rarely fatal and the vast majority of people with hepatitis A recover completely. The hepatitis A virus can be carried on an infected person's hands and can be spread by direct or sexual contact, or by eating or drinking food or beverages that were handled by the infected person, officials said. Symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. Making a definitive diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain can be difficult, because many diseases can result in this symptom. Abdominal pain is a common problem. , dark urine, yellowing or jaundicing of the skin and whites of the eyes and extreme fatigue. But some infected individuals show no symptoms, experts say. Infection can be prevented by remembering to wash hands after using the toilet and after diapering di·a·per n. 1. a. A folded piece of absorbent material, such as paper or cloth, that is placed between a baby's legs and fastened at the waist to contain excretions. b. children and before preparing food, officials said. A Los Angeles County health department official said there has been no hepatitis A outbreak in the southern Antelope Valley. Los Angeles County overall had 1,033 cases of hepatitis A reported last year, and 1,193 reported in 1994. |
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