558 N. Main St., Prineville, OR 97754 | (541) 447-6205
Crook County is experiencing an outbreak of meningococcal infection based on three cases during the last three months.
County and state public health officials recommend people ages 9 months through 25 years who live, work, or attend school or day care in greater Prineville get a meningococcal vaccination.The meningococcal vaccination is usually recommended for children ages 11-12, with a booster at age 16, but at this time public health officials are expanding the recommended age group.
To receive the meningococcal vaccination, people with healthcare coverage should contact their local provider or pharmacist. Most private health insurance plans will cover the cost of vaccination. People without insurance should dial 2-1-1 for more information. Uninsured, Medicaid enrolled, and American Indian/Alaska Native children ages 9 months through 18 years are eligible for federally-funded vaccine through the Vaccines for Children program during the outbreak.
"In a typical year, we would expect Crook County to have zero or one case of meningococcal infection," says Public Health Director Muriel DeLaVergne-Brown, RNBS, CPH. "Since March 2011, there have been six cases, five of them type C in people under 25 years of age. In the last three months, three people in Crook County have become ill with meningococcal serogroup C infection."
Meningococcal disease is not easily transmittable. It is a rare disease spread by respiratory droplets or by direct contact. People with a fever along with headache, neck stiffness and/or rash should seek medical attention right away. The disease can progress quite quickly, but is responsive to antibiotics. In rare cases, complications from meningococcal disease could include brain damage, deafness, paralysis, loss of digits or limbs, and death.
"The best way to prevent meningococcal disease is by vaccination," says DeLaVergne-Brown. "Other ways to protect yourself include not smoking, washing your hands, and not sharing eating or drinking utensils."
The three most recent Crook County cases struck an infant less than six months of age, a teen, and a young adult.
Meningococcal disease in Deschutes and other surrounding counties during the last year are distinctly different from the Crook County cases. They are not related.
The meningococcal vaccine is safe and effective for people ages nine months through 55 years of age. Although it is recommended for all children 11 through 18 years of age, in 2011 just 43 percent of Crook County's adolescents ages 11-18 had received one or more doses of the meningococcal vaccine. In Deschutes County, 56 percent of residents ages 11-18 had received the meningococcal vaccine.
For more information, people are urged to call their health care provider or dial 2-1-1.
