After returning to a traditional school year void of mask mandates and social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Southside Health District is cautioning about another virus circulating in the community: chickenpox.
Halifax County Public Schools on Friday afternoon shared an open letter to parents and caregivers from the local health district.
“Although chickenpox is usually not a serious illness, it often causes children to miss days from school and parents to miss work while they stay home and take care of their children,” the letter began. “In some cases chickenpox may be more serious, especially in young infants, adults and immunosuppressed individuals.”
The Virginia Department of Health reports chickenpox is a “very contagious” disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It usually occurs in school-aged children.
Symptoms usually appear within 14 days of exposure but could happen any time from 10-21 days following an exposure, the department reports.
The virus is spread in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. It’s also spread by direct contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters, the letter stated.
A vaccine debuted in 1995 to help ward off chickenpox. The two-dose vaccine has been required for school attendance beginning in 2010, according to the letter.
The vaccine is recommended for children 12 months and older — and adults — who have never had chickenpox. The second dose should be given three months after the first.
“Most people who are vaccinated before exposure to chickenpox disease will not get chickenpox,” the letter stated. “However, when vaccinated individuals do get chickenpox, the illness is very mild.”
Vaccines are available at primary care providers and the local health department.
Past infection with chickenpox generally makes a person immune, the health department reports. Second occurrences of chickenpox are not common but can happen, particularly in immunocompromised persons.
Initial symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache and feeling tired. An itchy, blister-like rash — usually starting on the face, chest or back — follows a day or two later. The rash then spreads to the rest of the body, and new blisters continue to appear for about three to four days, the health department states.
Generally, within one week, the blisters dry out and scabs form and fall off.
A person is contagious a day or two prior to when the rash appears, and for as long as five days after the rash begins or until a scab forms over it.
Once scabs form over the entire rash, the person can no longer spread the disease.
If a child does contract chickenpox, he or she should stay home from school and away from the susceptible children until the rash has “crusted over,” the local health district recommends.
Children who are vaccinated but still develop chickenpox are still contagious and also need to be kept at home until lesions either crust over or disappear.
Treatment is directed at reducing discomfort. Children with chickenpox should not receive aspirin because of the possibility of causing Reye syndrome, according to the health department. Antiviral medications are available but usually are not necessary.
The same virus that causes chickenpox also causes shingles, according to health officials.
After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays in the body in an inactive state. While medical experts aren’t sure why, the virus can reactivate years later causing shingles, a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rash consists of blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and fully clears up within two to four weeks.
The CDC recommends two doses of recombinant zoster vaccine to prevent shingles and related complications in adults 50 years and older. The vaccine also is also recommended for adults 19 years and older who have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy.
After returning to a traditional school year void of mask mandates and social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Southside Health District is cautioning about another virus circulating in the community: chickenpox.
Halifax County Public Schools on Friday afternoon shared an open letter to parents and caregivers from the local health district.
“Although chickenpox is usually not a serious illness, it often causes children to miss days from school and parents to miss work while they stay home and take care of their children,” the letter began. “In some cases chickenpox may be more serious, especially in young infants, adults and immunosuppressed individuals.”
The Virginia Department of Health reports chickenpox is a “very contagious” disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It usually occurs in school-aged children.
Symptoms usually appear within 14 days of exposure but could happen any time from 10-21 days following an exposure, the department reports.
The virus is spread in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. It’s also spread by direct contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters, the letter stated.
A vaccine debuted in 1995 to help ward off chickenpox. The two-dose vaccine has been required for school attendance beginning in 2010, according to the letter.
The vaccine is recommended for children 12 months and older — and adults — who have never had chickenpox. The second dose should be given three months after the first.
“Most people who are vaccinated before exposure to chickenpox disease will not get chickenpox,” the letter stated. “However, when vaccinated individuals do get chickenpox, the illness is very mild.”
Vaccines are available at primary care providers and the local health department.
Past infection with chickenpox generally makes a person immune, the health department reports. Second occurrences of chickenpox are not common but can happen, particularly in immunocompromised persons.
Initial symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache and feeling tired. An itchy, blister-like rash — usually starting on the face, chest or back — follows a day or two later. The rash then spreads to the rest of the body, and new blisters continue to appear for about three to four days, the health department states.
Generally, within one week, the blisters dry out and scabs form and fall off.
A person is contagious a day or two prior to when the rash appears, and for as long as five days after the rash begins or until a scab forms over it.
Once scabs form over the entire rash, the person can no longer spread the disease.
If a child does contract chickenpox, he or she should stay home from school and away from the susceptible children until the rash has “crusted over,” the local health district recommends.
Children who are vaccinated but still develop chickenpox are still contagious and also need to be kept at home until lesions either crust over or disappear.
Treatment is directed at reducing discomfort. Children with chickenpox should not receive aspirin because of the possibility of causing Reye syndrome, according to the health department. Antiviral medications are available but usually are not necessary.
The same virus that causes chickenpox also causes shingles, according to health officials.
After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays in the body in an inactive state. While medical experts aren’t sure why, the virus can reactivate years later causing shingles, a painful rash that develops on one side of the face or body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rash consists of blisters that typically scab over in seven to 10 days and fully clears up within two to four weeks.
The CDC recommends two doses of recombinant zoster vaccine to prevent shingles and related complications in adults 50 years and older. The vaccine also is also recommended for adults 19 years and older who have weakened immune systems because of disease or therapy.
