Sero-Epidemiological Study of Varicella in the Italian General Population
Giovanni Gabutti,
Tiziana Grassi,
Francesco Bagordo,
Marta Savio,
Maria Cristina Rota,
Paolo Castiglia,
Tatjana Baldovin,
Francesco Napolitano,
Alessandra Panico,
Matilde Ogliastro,
Claudia Maria Trombetta,
Savina Ditommaso,
Fabio Tramuto,
Sero-Epidemiological Study Group
Affiliations
Giovanni Gabutti
National Coordinator of the Working Group “Vaccines and Immunization Policies”, Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 16030 Cogorno, Italy
Tiziana Grassi
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Francesco Bagordo
Department of Pharmacy-Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70121 Bari, Italy
Marta Savio
Post-Graduate School of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
Maria Cristina Rota
Department of Infectious Diseases, Italian Institute of Health (ISS), 00161 Roma, Italy
Paolo Castiglia
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Tatjana Baldovin
Hygiene and Public Health Unit, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy
Francesco Napolitano
Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Alessandra Panico
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Matilde Ogliastro
Department of Health Sciences, University of Genova, 16126 Genova, Italy
Claudia Maria Trombetta
Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Savina Ditommaso
Department of Sciences of Public Health and Pediatrics, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
Fabio Tramuto
Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties “G. D’Alessandro”, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy
The aim of this study was to analyze the seroprevalence of varicella in Italy and to evaluate the impact of varicella vaccination, which has been mandatory for newborns since 2017. The levels of VZV-specific IgG antibodies were determined by the ELISA method in residual serum samples obtained from subjects aged between 6 and 64 years and residing in 13 Italian regions. Overall, 3746 serum samples were collected in the years 2019 and 2020. The overall seroprevalence was 91.6% (89.9% in males and 93.3% in females; p = 0.0002). Seroprevalence showed an increasing trend (p 40 years: 97.0%. The seroprevalence data obtained in the present study were compared with those relating to previous sero-epidemiological surveys conducted, respectively, in the years 1996–1997, 2003–2004 and 2013–2014, taking into consideration only data from regions monitored in all surveillance campaigns. The comparison highlighted for the period 2019–2020 showed significantly higher values in the age groups 6–9 (p p = 0.018) and 15–19 years (p = 0.035), while in adults, the trend did not change over time (ns). These results highlight the positive impact of varicella vaccination in Italy.
