SCOTT COUNTY FIGHTS OUTBREAK

SIKESTON -- A steady stream of people visited the Scott County Health Department's Sikeston clinic Friday.

Young and old alike, they came to the clinic to get vaccinated against hepatitis A. The contagious, viral disease has sickened 43 people in the Sikeston area.

Public health officials estimated that more than 250 people were vaccinated at the Sikeston clinic Friday.

As part of the vaccination, all of them will be called back to the clinic within the next year to receive booster shots.

The vaccinations kept 17 public health workers busy throughout the day, including three with the Missouri Department of Health.

The Scott County Health Department charged $35 for the adult shots. The cost was $20 for children, ages 2 through 18.

The vaccine isn't recommended for children younger than 2 years of age.

Nurse Practitioner Kay Griffin said the health department fees just cover their expenses.

The vaccine is expensive, she said. The current supply of the vaccine cost over $7,000, she said.

That doesn't even count the cost of needles or personnel, Griffin said.

Most of those who showed up for the shots Friday previously had filled out the paperwork and paid for the vaccine.

As a result, Friday's visits typically lasted no more than 10 minutes, Griffin said.

Those receiving the shots included entire families, she said.

Both the staff and those receiving the shots seemed to take it all in stride. "Merry Christmas," one nurse said after giving a shot.

Carrie Moore of Sikeston received the vaccine. "I don't want nothing wrong with me," she said.

"It didn't hurt," she said after receiving the shot.

Moore works at a Sikeston restaurant. She said she got the shot at the urging of her boss.

Hepatitis A can be spread through contaminated food and water, or direct person-to-person contact.

Public health official Sue Tippen said hand washing and vaccinations can prevent the spread of the disease.

The vaccine provides protection against hepatitis A for 20 to 25 years, said Tippen, communicable disease coordinator with the Missouri Department of Health's Poplar Bluff office.

The vaccine shouldn't make people sick, she said. "It is not a live-virus vaccine."

Hepatitis A comes and goes. "We tend to see an outbreak every few years," said Tippen, who spent the day helping out at the Sikeston clinic.

Tippen said restaurant owners have been encouraged to have their employees vaccinated.

"We are doing restaurant employees on an appointment basis," she said.

Nationwide, outbreaks of the disease have been linked at times with unsanitary conditions at restaurants.

But Tippen said she doesn't believe any restaurant is to blame for the outbreak in the Sikeston area.

No restaurant workers in Scott County have been identified with the virus, she said.

Persons infected with hepatitis typically have flu-like symptoms, such as nausea, fever and diarrhea. Deaths from the disease are rare, she said.

Tippen doesn't expect a quick end to the outbreak. In addition to the 43 confirmed cases, three more cases are suspected. Tippen said she is awaiting test results on those three cases.

Typically, it takes 30 days for a person to show signs of the disease once he or she has been infected.

All those holiday gatherings, filled with food, offer plenty of opportunities for the virus to spread, Tippen said.

"This couldn't come at a worse time," she said.

Tippen said public health officials won't declare the outbreak over until the area has gone at least 60 days without a new case of the disease showing up.

An outbreak of the disease has plagued the Springfield and Joplin areas of southwest Missouri for the past two years, Tippen said.

Tippen said ideally she would like to see everyone vaccinated.