Report of varicella outbreak in a low vaccination coverage group of otherwise healthy children in Italy: the role of breakthrough and the need of a second dose of vaccine.
We describe an outbreak of varicella at a preschool center in Southern Italy, in the period January-May 2009, among children with a vaccination coverage of 53.9% for one dose. The outbreak occurred in a small community in Puglia and enrolled 41 children. The attack rates for unvaccinated and vaccinated children were 72.3% and 12.7%, respectively. The vaccine effectiveness against disease was 82.4%. Our findings add a further piece of evidence in supporting the routine use of a second dose of vaccine for all children without a history of disease, as recently recommended by the ACIP of the CDC.
Tafuri
Silvio
S
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Hygiene Section, University of Bari, Apulia Regional Epidemiological Observatory, Bari, Italy.
Martinelli
Domenico
D
De Palma
Maria
M
Germinario
Cinzia
C
Prato
Rosa
R
D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine