Twelve Children with Varicella Vaccine Meningitis: Neuropathogenesis of Reactivated Live Attenuated Varicella Vaccine Virus

Varicella Vaccine

to an affected household member. In healthy children, varicella usually does not cause serious complications. However, immunocompromised children and otherwise healthy adults are at increased risk for life-threatening complications of varicella such as pneumonia, encephalitis, and disseminated infection. Although <10% of all cases of varicella occur in adults, this age group accounts for 25-30%...

Development of an Attenuated Live Virus Vaccine against Sheep Pox

Transmission of Varicella Vaccine Virus, Japan

To the Editor: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a human herpesvirus, is the causative agent of varicella (chick-enpox) and herpes zoster (shingles). Worldwide, children are routinely vaccinated with a live attenuated vari-cella vaccine containing the Oka vaccine (vOka) strain of VZV, originally developed in Japan (1–3). Although the risk for secondary transmission of the vOka strain from immunocom...

Varicella-zoster virus seroprevalence in children and adolescents in the pre-varicella vaccine era, Germany

BACKGROUND In 2004, universal childhood varicella vaccination was introduced in Germany. We aimed to determine the age-specific prevalence of anti-varicella zoster virus (VZV) IgG-antibodies among children in the pre-varicella vaccine era in Germany, to identify factors associated with VZV seropositivity, and to assess the suitability of a commercially available ELISA for VZV seroepidemiologica...

Varicella Vaccine Update

Recommendations for routine varicella vaccination were published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in May 1995, but many eligible children remain unimmunized. This update provides additional information on the varicella disease burden before the availability of varicella vaccine, potential barriers to immunization, efforts to increase the level of coverage, new safety data, and new recommen...