BACKGROUND Since July 2004, routine varicella vaccination is recommended by the German Standing Vaccination Committee in Germany. Health Insurance Funds started to cover vaccination costs at different time points between 2004 and 2006 in the Federal States. Nationwide representative data on vaccination coverage against varicella of children under two years of age are not available. We aimed to ...

Many countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Population-based data including physician visit claims, sentinel surve...

A universal one-dose varicella vaccination program was introduced in 2005 in Republic of Korea. However, the incidence of varicella in Korea has tripled over the last decade. We conducted a community based 1:1 matched case-control study to assess the effectiveness of one MAV strain-based vaccine and three Oka strain-based vaccines licensed for use in Korea. All cases were children in Seoul, Kor...

A proportion of individuals vaccinated with live attenuated Oka varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine subsequently develop attenuated chicken pox and/or herpes zoster. To determine whether postvaccination varicella infections are caused by vaccine or wild-type virus, a simple method for distinguishing the vaccine strain from wild-type virus is required. We have developed a TaqMan real-time PCR a...

Marietta Vázquez, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and of Nursing at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Vázquez received her BA from Yale University before obtaining her MD from the University of Puerto Rico in 1994. After completing her MD, she returned to Yale for a residency in Pediatrics and a subsequent fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Disease. Dr. Vázquez began as an Associate Rese...

BACKGROUND Many individuals together in semi-confined settings increase the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases. A single case of varicella on a cruise ship can thus result in rapid spread and elevated costs for the cruise provider in terms of repatriation, ship diversion, law suits, and loss in current and potential future revenue. Control of varicella involves attention to good personal ...

Background There is a risk of developing serious complications of varicella zoster infection (VZI) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients receiving disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) including methotrexate and biologic agents [1,2]. Varicella zoster (VZ) immune status should therefore be checked in all children before starting such therapy. Seronegative children mostly recei...

In 2007, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended a routine second dose of varicella vaccine for children at age 4-6 years, in addition to the first dose given at age 12-15 months. One strategy recommended for increasing varicella vaccination coverage is a school entry requirement of proof of varicella immunity. To determine the extent of implementation of the routine...

BACKGROUND The risk of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) after childhood vaccines other than measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) is unknown. METHODS Using data from 5 managed care organizations for 2000 to 2009, we identified a cohort of 1.8 million children ages 6 weeks to 17 years. Potential ITP cases were identified by using diagnostic codes and platelet counts. All cases were verified...

OBJECTIVE Varicella vaccination was introduced at the end of 1999 into the Uruguayan immunisation schedule for children aged 12 months. Varilrix (Oka strain; GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals) has been the only vaccine used since then and coverage has been estimated to exceed 90% since the start of the universal varicella vaccination programme. We assessed the impact of the Uruguayan varicella vaccin...