title: Seroepidemiology of varicella-zoster virus antibodies among health-care workers and day-care-centre workers.
abstract: Inclusion of live varicella vaccine in the routine occupational health vaccination schedule requires knowledge of the natural immunity to varicella zoster virus (VZV) among high-risk occupations. This study aims were to evaluate VZV antibody positivity among health-care workers (HCWs) and day-care-centre workers (DCWs) and to assess its association with potential risk factors. Three groups of workers were tested for VZV antibody positivity: hospitals and community clinic HCWs (n = 335), DCWs (n = 117) and blue-collar workers as controls (n = 121). The total VZV antibody positivity was 94.4%. There was no significant difference in VZV antibody positivity among study groups. DCWs had the lowest VZV seroprevalence (90.9%, 95% CI 85.7-96.1) and controls the highest (96.6%, 95% CI 93.2-99.9). This high VZV antibody positivity suggests that no special occupational measures are indicated in health-care or day-care occupational settings in Israel. On-going monitoring of the natural immunity to VZV is necessary to detect trends over time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, PO Box 39040, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lerman
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chodick
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tepper
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Livni
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ashkenazi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D000078329:Workforce
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine