Varicella Vaccination and the Result of Its Application

Sevdalina Alekova Todorova, Reneta Koycheva

Keywords: varicella vaccination, application, effectiveness

Review:

There are two forms of varicella vaccine: a single-component vaccine and a multi-component vaccine, i.e. combined tetravalent vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV). The authors present an analysis of available foreign scientific publications and reports on the impact of universal varicella vaccination programs implemented in different countries and regions of the world on the epidemiology of the disease and related outcomes was conducted. International scientific studies show that one dose of vaccine provides up to 71% reduction in the incidence of the disease, while the application of two doses – up to 98% reduction. According to the CDC, children who are immunized against chickenpox seem to have a lower risk of appearance of “herpes zoster infection” compared to individuals infected with wild-type VZV'. The application of varicella vaccines has led to a dramatic decline in the morbidity and mortality caused by this viral disease in countries such as Uruguay, Canada, and the United States of America. In 2016, the Latin American Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (SLIPE) recommended the inclusion of two-dose varicella vaccination in the national immunization schedules of all countries. In Europe, immunization against chicken pox is carried out at the national level in several countries - Germany, Greece, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Luxembourg. In Poland, Belgium and the Czech Republic, vaccination is recommended for specific population groups. Despite the difficulties in collecting and obtaining accurate and reliable data on the severity of infection, the universally introduced vaccine against varicella appears to be cost-effective through reduction of the percentage of complications. As a limitation, it should be mentioned that most data are available for high- and middle-income countries, and the effect of applied vaccination in low-income countries may be different from that reported.

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