This spring two north country school districts have been hit with unexpected outbreaks of diseases that students had been immunized against: pertussis (whooping cough) and the varicella-zoster virus (chickenpox).
Canton Central School officials last week confirmed a second case of pertussis had been diagnosed, in a seventh-grader at the McKenney Middle School. The first had been reported in March. The two students were in the same homeroom.
Last month, there was an outbreak of chickenpox in the Watertown City School District, with nine confirmed cases. The majority of those cases were reported in Sherman Elementary School.
All the students who became ill had been up to date on their immunizations.
While most children won't come down with a disease they have been vaccinated against, these two outbreaks illustrate a growing concern among health officials that some vaccinations are becoming less effective over time.
But parents do have the ability to give their children some additional protection against both pertussis and chickenpox with booster shots.
Starting Sept. 1, the booster shot for pertussis will be required for all children in the state entering sixth grade, said JoAnn M. Seiler, Lewis County Public Health director.
"We're really pleased it's going to be required for school entrance," said Mrs. Seiler. "We've had outbreaks of pertussis in this county during the past few years. It can be a serious disease."
"We had one young child who became quite ill and had to be hospitalized," she said.
The pertussis booster shot is actually part of a vaccine that includes protection against tetanus and diphtheria. It's called Tdap and was developed for people age 11 and older.
In fact, adults can receive it as well to meet the recommendation of a tetanus booster every 10 years, Mrs. Seiler said.
"This is a new vaccine that was developed for older children," she said. "Before that, we were never able to give a pertussis booster shot past age seven."
The varicella vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1995 to protect against chickenpox. It's estimated that the vaccine is 85 percent effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That vaccine has been required for all children entering kindergarten in New York since September 2003.
Last October, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices issued a recommendation that children receive varicella vaccine booster shots.
But the second dose of varicella is still not a requirement for school entry, and that's why many parents may not be aware it exists, said Donna R. Grant, Jefferson County supervising public health nurse.
North country public health agencies are taking steps to make it easier for parents to get their children immunized before the next school year, such as keeping their clinics open later in the evenings. The agencies will also take appointments for immunizations.
