Changes in Patterns of Hospitalized Children With Varicella and of Associated Varicella Genotypes After Introduction of Varicella Vaccine in Australia

摘要

Varicella is a highly contagious infection spread by air-borne transmission or contact with vesicle fluid from skin lesions.' Varicella is often more severe in immunocompromised children who are at risk of complications due to increasing use of immunosup-pressive therapies.2'3 In the prevaccine era, more than 5% of children hospitalized with complicated varicella developed long-term sequelae.4 Congenital and neonatal varicella are uncommon, but may have severe consequences.5 Before the availability of varicella vaccine in Australia from 2001, an estimated 240,000 varicella cases, 1500 hospitalizations and 1-16 deaths from varicella occurred annually.6"8 Decline in varicella hospitalizations9 and deaths10 has been observed in the United States, as have reductions in community and hospitalized cases in Australia," since introduction of the vaccine.