Chickenpox outbreak reported at Crab Orchard

Five students at Crab Orchard Elementary School in Lincoln County have been diagnosed with chickenpox, putting the county school system on alert, Ben Kleppinger reports for The Interior Journal in Stanford. Eva Stone, the schools’ health coordinator, told the newspaper that the students had been diagnosed with by at least four health-care providers, and an unknown number of siblings under school age have also been diagnosed.

“A letter was sent home to Crab Orchard parents earlier this week, notifying them of the diagnoses and informing them on how to identify the symptoms,” Kleppinger reports. “The letter encouraged parents to make sure their children are vaccinated against chickenpox and warned that people with chickenpox should avoid contact with others who have not had the illness or the vaccination.

The chickenpox vaccination is about 80-85 percent effective after one dose, so a second vaccination is routinely recommended, according to the letter.”