Campbell County offers hepatitis shots
By KRISTI L. NELSON
nelsonk@knews.com
October 14, 2005
In an effort to curb the spread of hepatitis A that has plagued Campbell County this year, health officials will offer hepatitis A vaccine to all public school students and more than 2,000 adults.
Health department and school system staff will begin vaccinating children 18 years old and younger for hepatitis A on Monday at public schools in Campbell County. They expect to reach all schools in the next two weeks.
In order for children to be vaccinated, students must have consent forms signed by a parent or guardian, said Sandy Halford, assistant regional director for East Tennessee Regional Health Office. Vaccinations, funded by the federal Vaccines for Children Program, will be free to all 6,294 public school students.
Campbell County has had two waves of hepatitis A outbreaks this year. In the first, which began in April, 25 people - most of them adults - were infected. In the second wave, in June, 16 of the 38 infected were children 15 and younger.
This spurred health officials to vaccinate children in Campbell County day-care facilities in August, both because children can spread hepatitis A without showing symptoms and because the virus is easily transmitted in day-care-type settings. The health department will still vaccinate 2- to 5-year-olds by appointment, Halford said.
Halford said about three-quarters of parents of children in day-care centers consented to have their children vaccinated during the August effort. She's hoping for a similar or better response from parents of school-age children.
Also, pharmaceutical company Merck has donated 2,000 adult doses of hepatitis A vaccine, which the Campbell County Health Department will offer on a first-come, first-served basis beginning in November. The vaccine will be free, but residents will pay an income-based administrative fee of $14 or less, Halford said. Additional vaccine will be available after the 2,000 free doses are administered, she said, but there will be a $20 charge, in addition to the administrative fee.
The last case of hepatitis A in Campbell County was a food handler at Charley's Pizza in Jacksboro, who was infected the first week of September, Halford said.
"We have not had a case since which is great," she said, but added, "Realistically, when hepatitis A gets in a small community like this and you've had this many cases, we would not be surprised to see a few more cases."
ETRHO has been unable to identify a single source of hepatitis A in the community. Investigating and fighting the virus - which Halford said is being spread by person-to-person contact - has taxed the resources of county and regional health departments.
The school system will provide school nurses and clerical staff to help administer the vaccine to children. The Campbell County Health Department also has also purchased a commercial-grade refrigerator in order to store a large enough supply of the vaccine, which must be kept refrigerated.
The hepatitis A virus can cause liver disease. Found in fecal matter, it is usually spread by personal contact and sometimes by eating food or drinking water that contains the virus. Thorough hand-washing and good hygiene practices can help stop the virus' spread.
"We want to impact this community-wide outbreak," Halford said. "We anticipate we will (by giving) vaccine."
