The Cincinnati Health Department is urging the public to take proactive steps after a recent cluster of chickenpox cases in the community.The health department said there are currently four cases in the area.The health department did not disclose how many cases there were in the area or what part of the city they were discovered.According to CDH, chickenpox can be prevented through vaccination. The CDH said that while neither chickenpox or shingles are considered to be life-threatening in otherwise healthy vaccinated children and adults, the virus can cause complications that could result in hospitalization.For people who have not been vaccinated against chickenpox or had chickenpox previously, the CDH recommends getting in contact with a primary care physician or contacting the Health Department health centers at 513-357-7320 to schedule an appointment for a varicella vaccination.Additionally, adults who had chickenpox as children are at risk of getting shingles, an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. People with shingles can also spread the virus, leading to chickenpox infection in individuals who have never been vaccinated or infected with varicella-zoster.”Chickenpox is a very preventable disease with vaccines, but not everyone is fully vaccinated,” said Grant Mussman, M.D., MHSA, Cincinnati Health Department Commissioner. “Chickenpox can be serious or life threatening in certain high-risk individuals if they are not protected, so we want to get ahead of the curve and do all we can to prevent this from spreading.”For the latest information on how to protect yourself from chickenpox and to get the latest updates, click here.

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