The Kansas City Royals have been hit by bout of chickenpox
Sep-02-2015

A chickenpox outbreak struck the Kansas City Royals clubhouse over the weekend, infecting All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera and starting right fielder Alex Rios. The team has scrambled to ensure its other players are inoculated against the disease, which is expected to sideline the affected players for two weeks.

The news, first reported by The Kansas City Star and confirmed by Yahoo Sports, is not expected to severely distress the Royals, whose 13-game lead in the American League Central is twice as large as any in baseball. Still, the club asked players to contact family members and inquire about their immunization status and whether they contracted the disease as a child, according to the Star.

The severity of chickenpox is higher in adults, who can develop pneumonia, among other complications. Rios, who was diagnosed with the disease first, and Herrera have been quarantined, according to the Star.

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease, and a vaccination did not exist in the United States until 1995. Vaccination in Latin American countries is irregular, and Rios, who grew up in Puerto Rico, and Herrera, who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, were not vaccinated.

There is no standard vaccination protocol across baseball, officials from other teams told Yahoo Sports. One general manager said his team doctor has made it a priority to vaccinate young Latin American players during spring training in recent years.

A mumps outbreak in the National Hockey League last season highlighted the ability for disease to spread quickly within a sport. Since then, the NHL has encouraged more sanitary use of water bottles and towels as well as encouraged players to provide teams with their vaccination records, a source told Yahoo Sports.

Click the link below for the rest of the article!

Visit Website

Posted by Ken at 1:43 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print