Approval of mandatory hepatitis, chicken pox vaccines is applauded

Monday, June 18, 2001 | 11:12 a.m.

Clark County Health District officials are praising a decision by the state Board of Health to make hepatitis A, hepatitis B and chicken pox vaccines mandatory for those enrolling in public and private schools.

"We've been pushing for this," said Suzann Chesebrough, nursing supervisor for the county's immunization program.

The new regulations were temporarily approved Friday. They still must be passed by the Legislative Counsel Bureau. The hepatitis vaccines would be required by July 2002, the chicken pox vaccine by July 2003.

Hepatitis is a disease of the liver and can lead to chronic health problems. It can be fatal. Hepatitis A is commonly transmitted through contact with human feces and causes flulike symptoms. Hepatitis B is a more serious strain and is usually transmitted through sexual contact or the sharing of needles.

The Clark County Health District currently immunizes about 80 percent of newborns with the first dose of the hepatitis B series before the infants leave the hospital, Chesebrough said. The child usually receives the other two doses in the series before his first birthday, she said.

The hepatitis A vaccine has been offered at no cost to Clark County children -- ages 2 to 4 -- who qualify under Medicare and special funding programs for minorities. Other vaccinations are offered on a sliding cost scale through the state's Healthy Kids program. Chesebrough said that because of the Board of Health's decision Friday, eligibility requirements likely would be expanded to include more children.

The hepatitis vaccines are offered at health fairs and shopping mall clinics, but the chicken pox vaccine is frozen and can be administered only at the health district's main clinic or doctor's office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been recommending hepatitis vaccinations for nearly 10 years. Many colleges and universities, including the University of California, already require enrolling students to have the three-shot hepatitis B series.

The board of health's plan has the support of county health officials and members of the Clark County School District.

School district officials used the incident to voice their support for the enhanced vaccination requirements after an outbreak of hepatitis A at an elementary school in April.

"When your liver is infected, your whole body is compromised," said Kim Rakow, an administrator at the school district's health services division.

Clark County health officials recorded 70 cases of hepatitis A last year and 42 cases of hepatitis B.