BACKGROUND Varicella vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1995 for individuals ≥12 months of age. A second dose was recommended in the United States in June 2006. Varicella incidence and vaccine effectiveness were assessed in a 14-year prospective study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. METHODS A total of 7585 children vaccinated with varicella vaccine in their secon...

The use of TNF-blocking agents has been associated with an increased susceptibility to infections [2] . Until now, VZV infections in patients on anti-TNFagents were mainly a paediatric issue, with some cases of severe primary varicella complicated by aseptic meningitis in etanercept-treated children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [3] . Herpes zoster [4, 5] and primary varicella [6] , which ...

Varicella is an acute contagious disease that most commonly occurs in childhood. Although normally benign, varicella can occasionally develop into a more serious illness. Moreover, the infection can lead to serious complications, such as Staphylococcus aureus infections, otitis media, endocarditis, pneumonia, and rare central nervous system (CNS) events like cerebellar ataxia and encephalitis. ...

BACKGROUND Varicella infection causes substantial morbidity in young adults. Most military basic trainees are 18 to 21 years old, yet the Army has no varicella vaccination policy. We therefore determined varicella susceptibility in a population of Army basic trainees, examined variables that might predict antibody status, and developed a vaccination strategies model. METHODS Fifteen-hundred n...

Surveillance systems for varicella in Europe are highly heterogeneous or completely absent. We estimated the varicella incidence based on seroprevalence data, as these data are largely available and not biased by under-reporting or underascertainment. We conducted a systematic literature search for varicella serological data in Europe prior to introduction of universal varicella immunization. A...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of 3 strategies of serologic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) testing and post-exposure varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG) prophylaxis for the prevention of maternal varicella pneumonia during pregnancy in patients with negative or uncertain histories of varicella infection. METHODS A decision tree was c...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the etiologic agent of varicella (primary infection) and herpes zoster (reactivation of latent infection). Although varicella is most often a relatively benign and self-limited childhood illness, the disease can be associated with a variety of serious and potentially lethal complications in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised persons. One complication of v...

OBJECTIVES The reported incidence rate of varicella infection in Jeju-do is higher compared with the national average. This study aimed to examine varicella vaccination history and evaluate clinical manifestation of varicella cases in Jeju-do. METHODS Based on the guideline suggested by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), two epidemic investigations for varicella infe...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Varicella is normally a self-limited disease of childhood that does not require hospitalization. In the prevaccine era varicella caused >9000 hospitalizations per year. To determine whether the varicella vaccine, licensed in 1995, has decreased hospitalizations because of varicella, we examined national rates of varicella-related hospital discharges (VRHD) covering a 12-year ...

BACKGROUND Varicella (chickenpox) is the primary disease caused by varicella-zoster virus. It is extremely contagious and is frequent in children. Indeed, in the absence of vaccination, a high proportion of the population is liable to contract it. Herpes zoster -more frequent among adults- is caused by reactivation of the latent virus. The objective of this study is to describe the status of an...