WILLMAR -- Local school and health authorities are on the alert for chickenpox after more than a dozen cases were reported over the past two months.
They're also urging parents to keep sick children at home to avoid spreading the disease further.
"It spreads easily from person to person," said Jo DeBruycker of the Health Learning Center at Affiliated Community Medical Centers. "If you have somebody with chickenpox, you really need to keep them away from people."
Nancy Van Hauen, elementary school nurse for the Willmar Public Schools, said Wednesday that 11 cases have been reported since Nov. 6, all at Roosevelt Elementary School.
There have been no new confirmed cases since school resumed Tuesday after the holiday break, she said.
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But doctors at Affiliated saw two cases Wednesday -- one in a younger child and one in an adult, neither of whom were vaccinated, DeBruycker said. Both those cases appear to be the result of the spread of the chickenpox virus, she said.
Chickenpox isn't unusual, Van Hauen said.
"We have chickenpox every year," she said. "You get one case in a classroom and you'll usually get more."
The incidence has been steadily lessening, however, since a chickenpox vaccine was introduced in 1995. The vaccine is now a requirement for children entering kindergarten.
In 2005 the Minnesota Department of Health also began requiring schools to report chickenpox outbreaks.
Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It's spread through direct contact or indirectly through sneezing and coughing.
In a minority of cases, serious -- and sometimes fatal -- complications can occur, such as viral pneumonia, encephalitis or meningitis. Infants, older adolescents, adults and those with suppressed immune systems are most at risk, especially if they haven't been vaccinated or haven't acquired natural immunity from previously having chickenpox.
In the days before a vaccine was available, chickenpox was responsible for 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths in the United States each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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"We worry about the complications at any age," DeBruycker said. "We worry about secondary spread and spread to health care workers. ... Vaccination is the best way to prevent chickenpox."
Van Hauen said letters were sent home with Roosevelt students who were in classrooms where chickenpox was reported. Roosevelt serves students in fourth through sixth grades
From the time of exposure, it can take 10 days to three weeks before symptoms appear.
The most obvious sign is a characteristic blister-like rash -- although the blisters may be absent in mild cases. Other symptoms include fever, headache and itching.
Treatment mainly consists of symptom relief, such as oatmeal baths to reduce the itching and non-aspirin pain relievers for aches and fever.
Because chickenpox remains contagious for five to seven days after symptoms appear, children who are sick should stay home from school, Van Hauen said.
She also urged parents to notify the school if their child comes down with chickenpox. "We do like to know so we can keep track," she said.
Hand washing and covering sneezes and coughs can help reduce the spread of chickenpox to the rest of the household, DeBruycker said.
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It's likely that within the next year or so, new recommendations will be issued for the chickenpox vaccine, calling for a second dose before children enter kindergarten. A single dose is currently recommended between 12 and 18 months.
The vaccine is 95 percent effective in preventing severe illness from chickenpox and 70 to 90 percent effective in preventing mild cases.
