title: Immunity to chickenpox among school adolescents in Lebanon and options for vaccination.
abstract: Varicella infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality in adolescents and adults. The primary infection, chickenpox, results in lifelong immunity to chickenpox. A seroprevalence study carried on adolescents 15-18 years of age attending schools in Lebanon showed 96.6% immunity to varicella. The positive predictive value for immunity to chickenpox based on history alone was 97.4%, whereas the negative predictive value was 4.5%. Coming from a bigger family was a statistically significant predictor of immunity to chickenpox. In a developing country like Lebanon the merits and limitations of implementing universal varicella vaccination is discussed in relation to seroprevalence and socioeconomic factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, American University of Beirut, PO Box 113-6044, Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: U M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Musharrafieh
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Nuwayhid
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Hamadeh
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Steitieh
authors.forename: A R N
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bizri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000191:economics / Q000276:immunology; D003906:Developing Countries; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012923:Social Class
chemical_list: D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine