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Vernon County adds measles monitoring to wastewater surveillance; reports rise in latent TB cases
Summary
County public health staff said the local wastewater surveillance program will now monitor measles shedding in addition to COVID-19; staff also reported four open latent tuberculosis cases (higher than usual) and a few tickborne illnesses and chlamydia cases for the month.
Vernon County public health staff told the Board of Health that the county’s wastewater surveillance program — which previously tracked COVID-19 levels — will begin monitoring for measles shedding and that the health department is tracking several other communicable-disease trends.
The department said the Viroqua-area wastewater treatment facility has expanded monitoring and that detecting measles RNA in wastewater could trigger targeted community outreach: “If we see that we have measles shedding in our water system, we can do that public push out. . . . You'll be hearing more about that coming out in the next weeks,” the staff member said.
Staff also reported four current latent tuberculosis infections in the county, which they described as higher than typical (the department said the county usually sees about one case per year). The department clarified that latent TB cases are not communicable but recommended that individuals complete treatment to reduce the risk of progression to active, transmissible disease. Board members asked whether latent cases require quarantine; staff replied they do not because latent infections are not contagious.
Other updates: county staff reported one confirmed case each of anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis (tickborne diseases), an uptick in chlamydia testing and a generally low level of respiratory-illness activity on the state dashboard. Hospital representatives at the meeting confirmed respiratory admissions were down and said the present seasonal caseload did not appear concerning.
No formal board action was taken. Staff said they will continue data collection and planned public messaging tied to wastewater findings and case trends.
