TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Varicella A1 - Marin, Mona A2 - Boulton, Matthew L. A2 - Wallace, Robert B. Y1 - 2022 N1 - T2 - Maxcy-Rosenau-Last Public Health & Preventive Medicine, 16e AB - Varicella (chickenpox) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Varicella is the primary infection caused by VZV, which, like other herpes viruses maintains latency in the human body and can reactivate to result in the secondary or reactivated form of disease known as herpes zoster or shingles. In temperate climates without a routine vaccination program, varicella is a common, highly communicable, childhood illness characterized by fever and a generalized pruritic vesicular exanthem. In the United States, prior to the availability of a varicella vaccine, this disease affected essentially everyone during their lifetime, with more than 95% of adults demonstrating antibodies to VZV by age 20–29 years.1,2 In tropical climates, varicella may be acquired at older ages with more infections and a higher susceptibility in adults. Varicella may result in serious consequences both in healthy persons and those at higher risk for severe disease including newborn infants, immunocompromised persons, pregnant women, and adults.3–6 Severe complications of varicella include sepsis, pneumonia, encephalitis, coagulation defects, shock, and death.5–9 In the United States before the vaccine era, annually varicella was responsible for an average of 11,000–13,500 hospitalizations and 100–150 deaths.7,8,10–12 Substantial burden of school absenteeism, costs of parental leave, and medical costs were associated with childhood varicella with net benefit to cost estimates for a routine childhood vaccination program.13,14 SN - PB - McGraw Hill CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182675873 ER -