Should Varicella Vaccination Be Included in the National Childhood Vaccination Program?

Abstract

The purpose of vaccination is firstly to protect individuals from infectious diseases and secondly to control, eliminate, and if possible, eradicate diseases. Vaccination is the most effective, safe and economic healthcare intervention. Chickenpox is known as a self-limited disease usually occurring in childhood. However, it may cause serious complications and mortality with increasing age. The most common complications are secondary bacterial infections, pneumonia, arthritis, osteomyelitis, cerebellar ataxia, meningitis, meningoencephalitis, and vasculopathy. Since 1995, varicella vaccination has been recommended for routine use in the United States of America (USA), and a dramatic decrease (approximately 75%) in the incidence of the disease was detected. A reduction in hospitalizations by 75-80% was also reported. Varicella-related deaths decreased by 75-92% in children and by 74% in adults. Although varicella vaccination has been included in childhood vaccination programs in Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, USA, Uruguay, and Lithuania, and in some parts of Italy and Spain, it has not yet been included in the childhood vaccination program in our country. In this report, views about inclusion of the varicella vaccination into the national childhood vaccination program are discussed together with various seroepidemiologic data and a cost analysis.

Keywords

• Varicella
• vaccination