Chickenpox outbreak in Volusia County

December 18, 1:43 PMOrlando Parenting ExaminerRobyn Kurth

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Varicella vaccinations could have prevented the
chickenpox outbreak in Volusia county.

If nothing will convince some local parents to get their children immunized, a news story out of nearby Volusia county might: local news outlets are reporting that as many as 50 kids have come down with chickenpox since September at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange.

According to a report on WFTV.com:

(The outbreak) is concerning enough that Friday afternoon a letter went home to parents encouraging vaccinations. But the letter warns even vaccinated kids can contract chickenpox and the severe rash, fever, or pneumonia that can come with it.

The report goes on to say that teens sometimes mistake chickenpox lesions for acne, and end up going to school in a highly infectious state, spreading the disease even further. Although deaths from chickenpox are rare, the Centers for Disease Control notes that prior to the licensing of the chickenpox vaccine in 1995, the virus caused an estimated 4 million cases of chickenpox, 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 – 150 deaths on an annual basis.

Do immunizations work? Think about how many people of our generation contracted the chickenpox. Ask your parents or grandparents if they grew up with someone who was disabled by polio before vaccinations were licensed for that disease in the mid-1950s. While no shot is 100% effective, the majority of children who are immunized will avoid diseases that used to kill babies and toddlers two or three generations ago.

The Florida Department of Health has links to statewide immunization information plus an interactive immunization scheduler to ensure that every child age six and under has their shots. According to the www.immunizeflorida.org Web site, children should receive dose 1 of the Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine at 12 – 15 months of age, and the second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.