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What is chickenpox
Chickenpox is an infectious disease
caused by the varicella-zoster virus which results in a blister-like
rash, itching, tiredness and fever. The rash appears first on the
trunk and face, but can spread over the entire body causing between
250 to 500 itchy blisters. Most cases of chickenpox occur in persons
less than 15 years old. Prior to the use of varicella vaccine, the
disease had annual cycles, peaking in the spring of each year.
How do you get chickenpox?
Chickenpox is highly infectious and spreads from person to person by
direct contact or through the air from an infected person’s coughing
or sneezing. A persons with chickenpox is contagious 1-2 days before
the rash appears and until all blisters have formed scabs. It takes
from 10-21 days after contact with an infected person for someone to
develop chickenpox.
What is the chickenpox illness like?
In children, chickenpox most commonly causes an illness that
lasts about 5-10 days. Children usually miss 5 or 6 days of school
or childcare due to their chickenpox. About half of all children
with chickenpox visit a health care provider due to symptoms of
their illness such as high fever, severe itching, an uncomfortable
rash, dehydration or headache. In addition, about 1 child in 10 has
a complication from chickenpox serious enough to visit a health care
provider including infected skin lesions, other infections,
dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea, exacerbation of asthma or
more serious complications such as pneumonia. Certain groups of
persons are more likely to have more serious illness with
complications. These include adults, infants, adolescents and people
with weak immune systems from either illnesses or from medications
such a long-term steroids.
What are the serious complications from
chickenpox?
Serious complications from chickenpox include
bacterial infections which can involve many sites of the body
including the skin, tissues
What are the serious complications from
chickenpox?
Serious complications from chickenpox
include bacterial infections which can involve many sites of the
body including the skin, tissues under the skin, bone, lungs
(pneumonia), joints and the blood. Other serious complications are
due directly to the virus infection and include viral pneumonia,
bleeding problems and infection of the brain (encephalitis). Many
people are not aware that, before a vaccine was available, there
were approximately 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths from
chickenpox in the U.S. every year . One child and one adult died
each week. For information about serious infections following
chickenpox visit the following site:
Complications from
Group A Streptococcus:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/
00049535.htm
Can a healthy person with varicella die from
the disease?
Yes, many of the deaths and
complications from chickenpox occur in previously healthy children
and adults. From 1990 to 1994, before there was a vaccine available,
there were about 50 chickenpox deaths in children and 50 chickenpox
deaths in adults every year; most of these persons were healthy or
did not have a medical illness (such as cancer) that placed them at
higher risk of getting severe chickenpox. Since 1999, states have
been encouraged to report chickenpox deaths to CDC. In 1999 and
2000, CDC received reports that showed that deaths from chickenpox
continue to occur in healthy, unvaccinated children and adults. Most
of the healthy adults who died from chickenpox contracted the
disease from their unvaccinated children.
Can chickenpox be prevented?
Yes, chickenpox can now be prevented by
vaccination.
Can you get chickenpox more than once?
Yes, but it is uncommon to do so. For
most people, one infection is thought to confer lifelong immunity.
Chickenpox in children is usually not
serious. Why not let children get the disease?
It is never possible to predict who will have a
mild case of chickenpox and who will have a serious or even deadly
case of disease. Now that there is a safe and effective vaccine
available, it is not worth taking this chance.
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