Health and school officials are warning families about exposure to chicken pox, after eight reported cases at Hillcrest Elementary and one at Free State High School.
Several incidences of the disease also have been reported recently in Jefferson County.
Charlotte Marthaler, director of policy and planning for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said health workers and school nursing staffs have worked to identify students and staff members who were at risk. That would include anyone who has not had chicken pox and has not been vaccinated.
The health department is offering the varicella vaccine for free to at-risk children and staff members. The department is open until 7 p.m. today and will be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday. Local physicians also may have the vaccine.
Marthaler said the sooner exposed children get vaccinated, they are less likely to get the disease or have as severe symptoms.
"It's always a good idea for parents to check their children's immunization records to make sure they are up to date," Marthaler said.
At Hillcrest School, 1045 Hilltop Drive, health officials say fewer than 40 unvaccinated fifth- and sixth-graders were exposed, she said. At Free State, the number is believed to be fewer.
School district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said health and school leaders sent letters and information home today with Hillcrest students.
According to the health department, anyone born before 1980 is considered immune to the illness.
Usually a mild disease, chicken pox can be serious, especially for infants and adults. Symptoms include rash, itching, fever and fatigue.
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.
smartmomma (anonymous) says…
Great..I was born after 1980, unvacinated and have never had them.....
tangential_reasoners_anonymous (anonymous) says…
... that could make you patient "less-than-zero."
torcia (anonymous) says…
In other breaking news a dog was reported barking
The_Voice_of_Reason (anonymous) says…
Good to know there is someone else in the world that was born after 1980 and has never had them or the vaccine... I'm right there with ya Smartmomma.... guess you and me beat the odds....
secretresistance (anonymous) says…
This being reported as news actually scares me. I hope society at large soon begins to think about a possible link between over-vaccination and the scads of auto-immune diseases that are becoming so prevalent. We're honestly supposed to be afraid of chicken pox now? There are many dollars to be made behind this fear mongering, at the expense of the health of the next generation. It's sickening.
yankeelady (anonymous) says…
Times have really changed. When I was a kid, if one of the kids in the neighborhood came down with chicken pox, all the mom's took their children over to "visit". The idea being that chicken pox was inevitable so it was better to get it over with. What were they thinking???
busymom (anonymous) says…
Since when did the attribution need to be placed twice in the same sentence? Oh and I remember those days of having to visit when one of the neighborhood kids became ill with the chicken pox. If I remember right, I had alot visit me.
tangential_reasoners_anonymous (anonymous) says…
I doubt we'll see many new physicians hanging out shingles over a simple chicken pox outbreak.
mom_of_three (anonymous) says…
One of my kids was exposed to the chicken pox about 5 times before she finally got them. She wasn't 2 yet. And boy, was it bad.....The chicken pox vaccination was a new thing then. And when she got them, the entire neighborhood came to visit the babysitter's house.
Tychoman (anonymous) says…
This just in: There was a biohazard incident today at Lawrence High when a student allegedly sneezed into a tissue. Officials are saying it has been contained and is being investigated.
GretchenJP (anonymous) says…
Slow news day today?
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
I'm no scientician, but I'm not sure Chicken Pox is worthy of an article. Perhaps they meant Monkey Pox.
GretchenJP (anonymous) says…
*crickets*