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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The response was a coordinated effort of Lake County Public Health, Lake County Office of Education, Clearlake Family Health Center and a variety of other local health providers.
Health officials said 61 close contacts were identified and referred for treatment.
Particular assistance was provided from the local health care community, including but not limited to Dr. Luis Diaz and Clearlake Family Health Center, Lake Pharmacy and North Lake Pharmacy.
The Lake County Office of Education worked closely with Lake County Public Health to address the issue.
The Pomo Early Connection preschool closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to enable employees and children to receive the recommended preventive treatment and for thorough disinfection of the facility, according to the two agencies.
According to Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait, the response showed remarkable multi-agency cooperation and assistance from the health care community, which was crucial to a timely and effective intervention.
“It is gratifying to know that our community is so ready to assist, particularly as personnel resources are shrinking,” she said. “It makes our public-private partnerships more important than ever. We are wishing a speedy recovery for the child who fell ill and are crossing our fingers that there will be no additional cases. With the success we had in rapidly getting preventive treatment to the close contacts, I’m feeling optimistic. ”
Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that strikes approximately 1,000 people in the United States each year, health officials said.
Many people carry the bacteria in the nose and throat. The bacteria can spread by exchanging respiratory and/or throat secretions. However, only rarely do the bacteria invade the bloodstream to cause serious infection, which can include meningitis, according to the report.
When infection occurs, it is serious and can be deadly, especially if antibiotic treatment is not started quickly. It starts with flu-like symptoms such as fever and headache, later progressing to a rash, stiff neck and confusion.
Why some people develop illness and others do not is not well understood. Health officials said seasonal variations in the disease occur, with more activity in the winter months. The annual number of cases reported in California in recent years varies between 120 and 200 cases.
Meningococcal disease most frequently occurs in children under age 5 years and in late adolescence/early adulthood.
A vaccine is available for protection against about half of the types of meningococcal disease that are identified. It is generally recommended for children starting at age 11-12 years. Although it is not routinely recommended for younger age groups, it is given to some children who are unusually susceptible to infections.
Meningococcal disease can result in outbreaks, particularly in congregate facilities, such as dormitories and daycare settings, the county health department said.
When one or more cases of this infection occur, measures are taken to prevent additional infections in close contacts who may have been exposed to the saliva or respiratory secretions of the sick individual. The preventive treatment usually consists of a single dose of antibiotic.
People who have had close contact with someone sick with meningococcal disease often ask whether it is necessary or helpful for their own family and friends to receive the preventive treatment. Health officials don’t recommend preventive treatment of people who did not have direct exposure to the ill person’s saliva or respiratory secretions during the infectious period.
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“Greater awareness of the disease, more rapid diagnosis and treatment, and increased vaccination rates contributed to saving the lives of infants,” said Dr. Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the state public health officer. “I thank our public health and medical communities for working together and being especially vigilant following the 2010 epidemic.”
In Lake County last year there were three pediatric pertussis cases, all in young infants, according to Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
She said all three babies were hospitalized and recovered.
In 2010, 9,000 Californians were diagnosed with pertussis and 10 infants died from the disease, CDPH said.
In response, CDPH partnered with local health departments and health care providers across the state implementing disease control strategies and informational alerts. The state also offered free vaccines to hospitals, allowing convenient vaccination for new parents to prevent transmission of the disease to newborns.
Last fall, a new state law required students in seventh through 12th grades for the first time to get a Tdap booster shot. The new school law will apply to all students entering seventh grade in 2012 and beyond.
While whooping cough remained high at more than 3,000 cases in 2011, there have been no deaths since Oct. 13, 2010, according to the report.
The last time California had 3,000 cases of whooping cough was 2005. That year, eight infants died, the state said. In 1991, there were only 249 reported pertussis cases in California.
Young infants are the most vulnerable to serious whooping cough complications. Of 575 whooping cough cases among infants 3 months of age or younger reported during 2011, 244 (42 percent) were hospitalized. CDPH said that’s a significant drop since 2010 when 59 percent of infected infants in that age group were hospitalized.
Immunity gained from pertussis vaccine wanes over time, so a booster shot is needed. The new school immunization law is intended to further protect communities by ensuring that adolescents, who may no longer be immune to whooping cough, are vaccinated. CDPH produced public service announcements in English and Spanish and partnered with the California Broadcasters Association to encourage media outlets to air the ads aimed at raising awareness about pertussis and the new California law.
Adults, especially those who live or work with infants, are also strongly encouraged to get a Tdap shot, CDPH said.
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An Oregon gray wolf which crossed the California border Dec. 28 continues to be closely monitored by state wildlife officials.
Updates on the position and progress of OR7, as the 2-and-a-half-year-old male is known, is available at a new Web site, www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/.
OR7 currently is reported to be in Lassen County, where he’s remained for approximately one week, the Department of Fish and Game said.
Lassen County also happens to be the location where the last wild gray wolf in California was killed in 1924, the Department of Fish and Game said.
Originally part of the Imnaha wolf pack, located in northeastern Oregon, the wolf has traveled more than 300 miles into California, officials reported.
He’s reportedly being monitored through various means, including a global positioning system device that periodically transmits its location.
His behavior, called “dispersal,” is not atypical of a male wolf his age and may be a result of natural competition among the males in the pack, seeking out a mate or better mating status in another pack, or seeking out a new food source if the original pack has overbred or there is limited amount of prey in the area, the Department of Fish and Game reported.
While OR7 is the only documented wolf in California, any wild gray wolf that returns to California is protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act, administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The federal law generally prohibits the harassment, harm, pursuit, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capture or collection of wolves in California, or the attempt to engage in any such conduct, officials said. Penalties include fines up to $100,000 and one-year imprisonment.
Though many sightings have been reported, all other recent “wolf” sightings that have been investigated in California have been found to be something else, such as a coyote, a dog or a hybrid wolf-dog. Despite reports to the contrary, the Department of Fish and Game is not aware of confirmed sightings of other wolves in California since 1924.
A helpful graphic to help distinguish a wolf from a coyote is available at
http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/management/wolf/wolfCoyote.html.
Concerns about human safety are largely based on folklore and are unsubstantiated, the agency said.
In recent years there was one human mortality in Canada caused either by wolves or bears and one confirmed human mortality in Alaska by wolves, according to the state. Based on experience from states where substantial wolf populations now exist, wolves pose little risk to humans.
However, the Department of Fish and Game recommends that people never approach a wolf, or otherwise interact with or feed a wolf.
Farmers and ranchers can reduce the likelihood of attracting wolves and other predators by removing potential sources of food and other attractants from their land such as discarded animal carcasses, bone piles, etc.
More about how to avoid human-wildlife interactions can be found on the Department of Fish and Game’s Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/keepmewild/ or www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf/.
The Department of Fish and Game has been following the recovery and migration of gray wolves in Western states with the expectation that at some point they will likely reach California.
The available historic information on wolves in California suggests that while they were widely distributed, they were not abundant.
More information about wolves in California can be found at
www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/docs/Gray_Wolf_Report_2012.pdf.
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Lake County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Main Street in Upper Lake at 2 a.m. Tuesday on the report of a home invasion robbery, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.
He said the victim heard a loud noise coming from the living room area and went to investigate, and was confronted in the living room by three or four armed Hispanic male adults.
The suspects wanted to know where the victim kept his marijuana, money and firearms, Brooks said.
Taken from the residence was approximately 20 pounds of marijuana, $1,500 in cash and a firearm, according to Brooks.
The suspects tied the victims’ hands and feet prior to leaving the residence. Brooks said the man eventually was able to free himself and dial 911 to report the crime.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit, as well as crime scene investigators, responded to the location. They processed the scene for evidence and continued the investigation into the robbery, Brooks said.
On Jan. 17, two home invasion robberies were reported, one in Upper Lake and one in Loch Lomond, as Lake County News has reported.
The three men alleged to have been involved in the Upper Lake robbery, also allegedly seeking marijuana, led deputies on a high speed chase on Highway 29. Two of them were captured outside of Lakeport, while the third man eluded capture following a lengthy search.
No arrests have so far been reported with the respect to the robbery in Loch Lomond, with the suspects in that case also reportedly looking for marijuana.
Upper Lake community members also have reported to Lake County News that a home invasion robbery occurred in the town late in December.
When Lake County News requested information on that incident, the sheriff’s office said it was an ongoing investigation and therefore would not release any details of what occurred.
If anyone has information pertinent to the investigation of the Tuesday incident, please contact the Lake County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at 707-262-4200.
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