Chicken pox outbreak quiets school

Published 11:04 pm Friday, November 21, 2008

MONROE — A chicken pox outbreak meant a day at home for more than half the students at a Monroe elementary school Friday.

The Snohomish Health District ordered students who have chicken pox or had not been properly immunized to stay away from Salem Woods Elementary School.

The school has an enrollment of 507 students. On Friday, 205 boys and girls were on campus by late morning. Of those, 160 were properly immunized and 42 others were not or didn’t have records at the school, and had to be separated from their peers.

Class sizes ranged from seven to 19 students.

At times Friday the school was busy with parents dropping off students who got a vaccination in the morning or were bringing in records of their child’s vaccinations. Other students who didn’t have vaccinations or proper records were picked up.

Lesson plans were changed to more enriching than academic activities and no homework was assigned, aid Janna Dmochowsky, the school’s principal.

Sixteen students at the school came down with chicken pox in recent weeks. State law requires schools to report chicken pox outbreaks if there are eight or more cases.

"It can be a pretty benign condition, but the real issue is to try to protect the rest of the community," said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer and director of the Snohomish Health District. "We were worried it could spread rapidly to the rest of the community."

Schools in Moses Lake and Spokane took similar actions earlier this year after chicken pox outbreaks.

Chicken pox is caused by varicella zoster virus, a type of herpes virus that is highly contagious. It is often a mild illness, but can be severe in infants, pregnant women, adults and people with weakened immune systems.

In recent years, chicken pox vaccines have been required for children entering the school system. Before the vaccine, almost everyone had chicken pox by adulthood and had developed a natural immunity. More than 95 percent of American adults have already had it, according to the health district.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children receive two doses of varicella vaccine.

The number of doses required was recently increased from one to two vaccinations after research found children needed a booster shot to be protected, Goldbaum said. Just three years ago, it was recommended but not required.

Students can get their vaccinations closer to home today.

There will be a special walk-in vaccination clinic from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Providence Physician Group, 14692 179th St. SE. Vaccinations will cost $15.

The vaccines also may be available from family doctors and through the Snohomish Health District on a sliding fee scale.

Principal Dmochowsky hopes her students can get their vaccinations over the weekend and that Salem Woods can return to normal next week.

"I expect many more children on Monday because of the clinic on Saturday," she said.

Monroe resident Brett Thomas had to pick up his third-grade granddaughter Friday because she didn’t have the vaccination. He hopes she will be able to get it today, but questions whether sending children home was necessary.

To Thomas, it seemed like an overreaction.

He remembers chicken pox from his childhood, which seemed like a rite of passage.

"It was something everyone caught, almost like losing your front teeth," he said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or e-mail stevick@heraldnet.com.