University Daily Kansan / Friday, April 27, 1990
5
Douglas County misses brunt of Kansas measles outbreak
Your paper, your news. KANSAN Campus-Nation/World-Sports-Wonder-Arts/Education
By Steve Bailey
Kansan staff writer
Measles has become a problem for several counties in Kansas that are now working hard to fight off the highly contagious infection.
But Douglas County has not needed to take the serious protective measures that some areas of the state require, health officials said yesterday.
Saline County, with 102 suspected cases, is in the midst of the largest outbreak in its history. Health officials have been immunizing people at Saline County hospitals and son, director of the Salina-Saline County Health Department.
"We have immunized all the schools in Salina except six elementary schools where suspected cases have not been reported," Richardson said. "We have also immunized employees at both hospitals because two cases were reported from there as well. In all, we have given roughly 13,000 immunizations since the beginning of March."
Richardson said employees at a
few Salina businesses also had been immunized because of suspected cases in the workplace. The state provides the vaccine at no cost to local health departments for vaccinating those in contact with a confirmed or suspect case.
Hospitals in Wichita, where there have been only two suspected cases reported, also are protecting hospital employees from the disease.
Barbara Sorchy, director of public relations for Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, said Wesley began immunizing employees last week after a nurse was diagnosed with a suspected case of measles.
"We started immunizing all employees under 33 years of age and employees who had never had the vaccination," Sorochty said. "We have immunized more than 1,000 people, and now other hospitals in Wichita have begun to do the same thing as a precaution."
Sorochty said there had not been any programs to mass-immunize school employees or students in Wichita.
In Douglas County, where eight suspected cases of measles have been reported, health officials have had to deal with any type of mass-unimmunization programs, said Barbara Schnitzer, director of nurses at the Douglas County Health Department.
"Last year we had to vaccinate at a few schools, but we haven't had to do anything, yet this year," Schnitzer said. "If there was a case in a school, we would go in and immunize based on student immunization history. Those born in or after 1957 who did not have proof of two doses of measles vaccine after their first birthday would be immunized."
Charles Yockey, chief of staff at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said Watkins also had not needed any type of mass-immunization programs.
"We haven't immunized our staff because we are all protected," Yockey said. "So far we haven't had any reason to implement an immunization plan for the campus."
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