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Chickenpox

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Est. 1996

 

 

 

 

 

A quote from The  New England
 Journal of Medicine,
 Vol. 338, No. 26, p 1927, 1998 states . "A recent
 study found that the incidence
 of adult varicella (chickenpox) in Japan is increasing,
 with substantial social
 cost"
 

 Takayama, N,  Ajisawa A, Negishi M, Masuda G, Minamitani
 M.    "Varicella in  adulthood: clinical features, severity scores, source of infection and  complications"   Kansenshogaku Zasshi,1997;
 11:1113-9 (It is in
 Japanese)
   
           Kansenshogaku Zasshi 1997  Nov;71(11):1113-9
         Takayama N, Ajisawa A, Negishi M, Masuda G, Minamitani M.
 
 Tokyo Metropolitan
     Komagome Hospital.
  Varicella has been thought to be one of the representative infectious disease in childhood, but
 recently we are under the impression that adults contracting varicella are increasing in number. On the other hand, they say that varicella generally causes a serious illness in adult patients. So we investigated signs and symptoms of varicella, source of infection, occupations of adult patients, except those who were immunologically compromised, by means of medical records, to know the characteristics of varicella in adulthood.


 According to the varicella severity score proposed by Nagai et al., varicella in the hospitalized adult patient was found to be much severer than that in children. The most remarkable symptoms, were high fever and sore throat, and these were the main reason of hospitalization in most of our patients. Although severity scores were very high in admitted adult patients with varicella, their clinical courses were not serious, and most of them recovered with only supportive therapy. These patients rarely suffered from complications, like pneumonia. If adult patients with varicella hospitalized in the early stage and received supportive care, they could recover without any complications. In most cases of adult varicella the source of infection was unknown. In the case of married persons, however, many of them were infected through their child. When adults contract varicella, not only the
 patients themselves suffer from high fever and sore throat, but also they act as the source of infection, if they are medical care workers.


 Furthermore, in public, the contraction of varicella results a socioeconomic loss from suspension of business caused by the illness. Prophylaxis with varicella vaccine, therefore, should be considered, when there are people who have never contracted varicella, whether or not they are medical staff.