Students at a top US college are being told to quarantine if they develop symptoms of chickenpox amid an outbreak of the disease on the main campus.
Three cases of the highly transmissible infection have been detected at Penn State University, prompting the alert.
All the cases were on the University Park campus, the main campus at the university which has about 42,000 students.
It isn’t clear whether the patients are staff or students, but university officials say they have found the ‘origin’ of the outbreak and are now reaching out to close contacts.
Students who were in the Mifflin Hall between February 17 and 24 and the Thomas building on February 20 between 1 and 3pm are being warned they may have been exposed to the virus.
Officials say the risk of infection is ‘low’, but that students should check their vaccination status and isolate and contact health services if they have symptoms.
It comes amid mounting outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the US, with Texas recording its first death from measles in a decade and an alert being issued for travelers to JFK International Airport in New York after a measles case was detected.
Longtime vaccine sceptic and HHS head RFK Jr. made a sudden U-turn over the weekend, urging people to get vaccinated against measles and other diseases.
Three cases of chickenpox have been detected on Penn State’s University Park campus. Shown above is Old Main, the main administrative building at the university
It is not the first time the university has issued an alert over chickenpox, after a possible exposure ahead of a dance marathon was reported in 2015.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious diseases that typically triggers an itchy rash with red spots and fluid-filled blisters on the chest, back and face.
It is caused by the varicella virus, and primarily affects children but can occur at any age — and is more likely to be deadly among adults.
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The disease spreads via touching a rash or breathing in droplets expelled in the coughs and sneezes of patients that contain the virus.
About 1.5 out of every 100,000 child patients die from the disease, compared to about 30 out of every 100,000 adults who contract the infection.
In serious cases, chickenpox can cause infected blisters, pneumonia, bleeding disorders and brain swelling.
The disease can be prevented with two doses of the varicella vaccine, brand name Varivax, which is at least 97 percent effective against the chickenpox virus.
Doctors say otherwise healthy children who are infected may not need treatment, but in adults and those at high risk of complications doctors may prescribe antiviral medications to reduce symptoms.
In its release, a spokesperson for Penn State said: ‘The risk of infection is low for individuals who have received both doses of the vaccine.
‘Breakthrough cases [cases in vaccinated patients] tend to present with milder symptoms, including fewer blisters and little or no fever. Those who have previously had chickenpox are generally immune and reinfection is extremely rare.
Symptoms of chickenpox pictured in a male patient (stock)
The above shows nationwide vaccination rates for chickenpox in the US
‘[But] given the approaching University spring break, individuals should be especially mindful of potential exposure and symptoms.’
The United States started to vaccinate against chickenpox in 1995, becoming the first country in the world to do so.
Children were offered two doses of the vaccine, which uses a live and weakened form of the chickenpox virus, at 12 to 15 months and four to six years of age.
Uptake nationwide surged to 97 percent of all children entering kindergarten having received at least one dose of the vaccine in 2016 to 2017, but it has declined since — with 93.7 percent of children entering kindergarten now having received at least one dose in 2023 to 2024, the latest year.
In Pennsylvania, state data shows that 93.2 percent of children entering kindergarten had received both doses of the chickenpox vaccine.
Other countries including the UK now also recommend the vaccine, with the British green-lighting the shot in November 2023.
The UK had previously avoided recommending the vaccine, warning that this may raise the risk of some people catching the disease in adulthood — when it is more likely to cause a serious illness. But it has since shifted this view, noting that the vaccine reduces the number of cases and hospitalizations with the illness.
Before the vaccination program, about 4million cases, 13,500 hospitalizations and 100 to 150 deaths from chickenpox were reported in the US every year, says the CDC.
Now, the agency estimates there are fewer than 150,000 cases, 1,400 hospitalizations and 30 deaths recorded annually.
Commenting on the success of the program in 2022, CDC epidemiologist Mona Marin said: 'For chickenpox to go from being an inevitability of childhood to being rarely seen in just one generation is truly remarkable.
'The significance of the vaccine program — in lives saved, in sickness and hospitalizations avoided and in prevention of disruption to schools and family life — cannot be overstated.'