Bug breakfast in the bulletin: varicella zoster.

Chickenpox is usually a mild, self-limiting disease of childhood. It is highly contagious and causes a vesicular rash. Complications are seen in approximately one per cent of cases and infection of pregnant women can cause congenital varicella syndrome and neonatal varicella. There are approximately 240,000 cases of chickenpox in Australia each year, leading to approximately 1500 hospitalisations and eight deaths. In Australia, 80 to 90 per cent of unvaccinated people have been infected with varicella zoster by adolescence.