Five children stricken with chickenpox have died within the past few weeks in Southern California, possibly because of complications from a severe bacterial infection, health officials said.
At least 29 other youngsters in the region with chickenpox, caused by a virus, have had similar but nonfatal bacterial infections this year, health officials said.A virulent Group A streptococcal bacteria was confirmed as the cause of death in one of the five cases and is believed to be the cause in the other four, health officials said.
A countywide hospital alert is in effect in Orange County, where three of the deaths occurred in the past two weeks.
"It's not unusual for us to have one or two deaths due to chickenpox in a year," said Dr. Hildy Meyers, an Orange County epidemiologist. "This is something we are concerned about, but whether we are starting an epidemic or not, we can't say."
Six children in San Diego County have been hospitalized with serious cases of chickenpox since a 9-year-old boy died March 3, including three who were in critical condition.
"We don't usually get that many at one time," said Chris Abe, infection-control nurse at Children's Hospital in San Diego. "This has been a really bad year."
In Los Angeles County, Dr. Shirley Fannin of the county's disease control counted 20 severe cases of chickenpox in recent weeks in area hospitals, including a 5-year-old who died.
"One hospital had 15 cases in March when they had 15 all of last year," Fannin said.
Since mid-February, 19 seriously ill chickenpox patients have been treated at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles.
"This is definitely the most cases I've seen in five years," said infection control coordinator Judith Lanson.
There is no known vaccine against chickenpox, which rarely causes death.
Complications suffered by chickenpox sufferers are usually due to bacteria that invade the red dot lesions that break the skin.
The streptococcal bacteria typically can cause illnesses such as strep throat and pneumonia. The current strain is vicious, moving rapidly in the body.