| Article | May 28, 2010
Toronto Public Health continues to seek pregnant women exposed to chicken pox at prenatal nutrition class
Toronto Public Health (TPH) is continuing efforts to contact women who were exposed to chicken pox at a prenatal nutrition class on Tuesday this week. The majority of Canadian adults are immune to chicken pox; however, if a woman is not immune and becomes infected, the illness poses more serious risk of complications to pregnant women, and can, in rare cases, cause severe complications to the fetus or newborn.
TPH is still trying to reach a small number of women who attended the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) class at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, at York Community Services, located at 1651 Keele St.
If you attended this class and have not had chicken pox, or are unsure whether you have had chicken pox, you should contact your obstetrician or prenatal health care provider immediately to discuss preventive treatment. It is recommended that all pregnant women whose immune status is not known receive Varicella-zoster immune globulin (VariZIG(TM)) within 96 hours of exposure. This treatment should be given as soon as possible, and may be effective as late as Saturday, May 29, at 1:30 p.m.
TPH is also asking women who attended the class and have not yet been contacted by TPH, to call 416-690-2142 after hours, or on the weekend, or 416-338-7600 during regular business hours.
Visit our website at http://www.toronto.ca/health. |
