Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_14696905
Chicken pox confirmed
By Jennifer Huberdeau, New England Newspapers
Updated: 03/18/2010 12:15:52 PM EDT
Thursday March 18, 2010
NORTH ADAMS -- Despite the common perception that chicken pox has been eradicated by a childhood vaccine, over a dozen cases of the virus have been confirmed by local pediatricians' offices this week.
However, local parents might have a hard time recognizing the childhood illness, which is traditionally identified by high fevers and itchy red blisters that would crop up by the hundreds on a child's skin.
"We've seen some mild cases," Dr. Marc McDermott, a pediatrician with Northern Berkshire Pediatrics, said on Wednesday. "What we're seeing in children who have had the varicella vaccination is what looks like a rash -- from a few red raised bumps to a few dozen bumps. Children aren't getting the red itchy blisters that were the hallmark of the illness. Twenty years ago, you would know a child had the chickenpox because he would have a 102-degree fever and break out in hundreds of blisters."
While local pediatricians wouldn't call the local cases a cause for concern, outbreaks of the illness, which can cause major complications, were most recently reported in vaccinated children in San Diego County schools and at the University of Wisconsin -- LaCosse campus. Internationally, outbreaks of epidemic proportions have been reported in Uganda, India and Vietnam, where thousands of unvaccinated children and adults are reportedly suffering from respiratory complications caused by the virus.
"People often assume that children are immune once they are vaccinated," McDermott said. "No vaccine is perfect. The varicella vaccine is very good at preventing the life-threatening complications that affected 1 in 1,000 people who contracted it." ..
Chicken pox confirmed
By Jennifer Huberdeau, New England Newspapers
Updated: 03/18/2010 12:15:52 PM EDT
Thursday March 18, 2010
NORTH ADAMS -- Despite the common perception that chicken pox has been eradicated by a childhood vaccine, over a dozen cases of the virus have been confirmed by local pediatricians' offices this week.
However, local parents might have a hard time recognizing the childhood illness, which is traditionally identified by high fevers and itchy red blisters that would crop up by the hundreds on a child's skin.
"We've seen some mild cases," Dr. Marc McDermott, a pediatrician with Northern Berkshire Pediatrics, said on Wednesday. "What we're seeing in children who have had the varicella vaccination is what looks like a rash -- from a few red raised bumps to a few dozen bumps. Children aren't getting the red itchy blisters that were the hallmark of the illness. Twenty years ago, you would know a child had the chickenpox because he would have a 102-degree fever and break out in hundreds of blisters."
While local pediatricians wouldn't call the local cases a cause for concern, outbreaks of the illness, which can cause major complications, were most recently reported in vaccinated children in San Diego County schools and at the University of Wisconsin -- LaCosse campus. Internationally, outbreaks of epidemic proportions have been reported in Uganda, India and Vietnam, where thousands of unvaccinated children and adults are reportedly suffering from respiratory complications caused by the virus.
"People often assume that children are immune once they are vaccinated," McDermott said. "No vaccine is perfect. The varicella vaccine is very good at preventing the life-threatening complications that affected 1 in 1,000 people who contracted it." ..