OBJECTIVES The implementation of a routine childhood varicella vaccination program in the United States in 1995 has resulted in a dramatic decline in varicella morbidity and mortality. Although disease incidence has decreased, outbreaks of varicella continue to be reported, increasingly in highly vaccinated populations. In 2000, a varicella vaccination requirement was introduced for kindergarte...

Varicella usually is a self-limited disease but sometimes can result in severe complications and death. Although infants, adults, and immunocompromised persons are at increased risk for severe disease, before varicella vaccine was introduced in 1995, the majority of hospitalizations and deaths from varicella occurred among healthy persons aged <20 years. Introduction of varicella vaccine has su...

BACKGROUND Varicella outbreaks occur frequently in closed environments such as those of militaries. This paper compares the economic outcomes of varicella vaccination in enlisted servicemen without prior reported varicella infection or vaccination. METHODS We analyzed the economic outcomes of a varicella vaccination program on all enlisted servicemen without prior reported varicella infection...

BACKGROUND Varicella is generally considered a mild disease. Disease burden is not well known and country-level estimation is challenging. As varicella disease is not notifiable, notification criteria and rates vary between countries. In general, existing surveillance systems do not capture cases that do not seek medical care, and most are affected by underreporting and underascertainment. We a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Varicella has an important impact on public health, especially before the introduction of the varicella vaccine. This study investigated the epidemiological characteristics and disease burden of varicella during the introduction of the varicella vaccine for mass vaccination in Taiwan. METHODS The International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modificat...

In December 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved VariZIG, a varicella zoster immune globulin preparation (Cangene Corporation, Winnipeg, Canada) for use in the United States for postexposure prophylaxis of varicella for persons at high risk for severe disease who lack evidence of immunity to varicella* and for whom varicella vaccine is contraindicated. Previously available unde...

Healthcare workers are recommended to get vaccinated against measles and varicella. This study aims describe the implementation process of a varicella vaccination program report on reduction in number susceptible healthcare exposed measles, varicella, disseminated herpes zoster at tertiary hospital. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) model was used implemented from Oc...

At the time of the varicella outbreak among immigrant workers at a poultry processing factory and at their apartment complex, reported in this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases [1], live attenuated var-icella vaccine had been licensed for routine use in the United States for 5 years [2]. Nevertheless, these highly varicella-susceptible young adults, most of whom had been born in Mexico or C...

BACKGROUND The authors sought to monitor the impact of widespread varicella vaccination on the epidemiology of varicella and herpes zoster. While varicella incidence would be expected to decrease, mathematical models predict an initial increase in herpes zoster incidence if re-exposure to varicella protects against reactivation of the varicella zoster virus. METHODS In 1998-2003, as varicella...

OBJECTIVE To quantify both the individual-level and attributable risk of varicella infection requiring medical care in children whose parents refuse varicella immunizations. DESIGN Matched case-control study with conditional logistic regression analysis. SETTING Kaiser Permanente of Colorado (KPCO) health plan between 1998 and 2008. PARTICIPANTS Each pediatric physician-diagnosed case of ...