CHICKEN POX CASES ON RISE IN MISSISSIPPI CO.

CHARLESTON -- The Mississippi County Health Department has seen a rash of chicken pox cases this month.

The number of cases reported to the health department jumped from three in March to 17 in April.

Rachel Troutwine, a community health nurse at the health department, said a sudden increase is not that unusual.

"I don't know why the schools are seeing it so much right now, but it seems like we see this in cycles," Troutwine said.

Chicken pox is characterized by an itchy rash and open sores. The fluid emitted from the sores is a carrier of the disease but it can also be passed by skin contact up to two days before the rash develops.

The disease is rarely life threatening but can keep children at home for more than a week.

Troutwine said Mississippi County has offered a free chicken pox vaccine for children between 6 months and 23 months old since October. The health department has averaged about five chicken pox inoculations a month since obtaining the vaccine.

"That age group is getting shots for so many things that this is just one more stick," Troutwine said.

While the health department does not break down where the cases are occurring, Troutwine said they have all come from the schools. No instances of adult chicken pox have been reported.

Linda McDonough, nurse at Hearnes Elementary School in Charleston, said there have been several cases reported from her school. The Charleston Kindergarten Center has not seen any cases of chicken pox this month.

Charlotte Craig, director of the Cape Girardeau County Health Department, said 10 cases of chicken pox have been reported to her office since the end of March. She said it is uncommon for adults to develop chicken pox even if they have not been diagnosed with the disease as children.

"It is such a prevalent disease that we form some natural immunity to it if we haven't had it," Craig said. The disease might be more miserable for adults but it isn't necessarily more dangerous.

The Cape Girardeau County Health Department also offers the chicken pox vaccine but charges $40 per inoculation. Only children who are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or another need-based medical program are provided with free vaccination shots in Cape Girardeau County, Craig said.

Craig said she sees the vaccine becoming cheaper as the cost of caring for chicken pox patients increases. As parents have to spend more time away from work and at home with sick children, she said, the need for a free vaccine might become clear.