An unvaccinated Kentucky teenager has lost his legal effort to force health officials to allow him to play basketball amid a disease outbreak. Jerome Kunkel sued after students without chickenpox immunity were banned from playing sports or attending school, where dozens were sickened.

A Kentucky judge sided with the health department, saying the 18-year-old does not have a right to play sports. In a statement health officials said the decision is best for the community. The Northern Kentucky Health Department said in a statement the ruling “underscores the critical need for Public Health Departments to preserve the safety of the entire community, and in particular the safety of those members of our community who are most susceptible to the dire consequences when a serious, infectious disease such as varicella [chickenpox], is left unabated and uncontrolled”.

Through a lawyer, Mr Kunkel said he was “devastated” by the ruling.(BBC)…[+]