title: Should the chickenpox vaccine be included in the National Immunization Schedule in India?
abstract: Varicella (chickenpox) is an acute, highly contagious viral disease with worldwide distribution. The highest prevalence occurs in the 4-10 year age group but tends to be more severe in adults. It may be fatal in neonates, immunocompromised persons, and normal adults, especially smokers. Varicella is usually a benign childhood disease, and rarely rated as an important public health problem, but this can be severe and even fatal in otherwise healthy children (< 1 out of every 10,000 cases). Chickenpox can cause pneumonia (23 out of every 10,000 cases), and is an important risk factor for developing severe invasive "strep" (group A streptococcal disease). Complications of varicella include bacterial infections (up to 5% of cases), decreased platelets, arthritis, hepatitis, pneumonia (more commonly in adults) or encephalitis (1 in 10,000 cases), which may cause a failure of muscular coordination, sometimes resulting in persistent sequelae or death. Varicella is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children. Universal vaccination can cause a dramatic reduction in the incidence of varicella, associated complications, hospitalizations and fatality rates. In India, due to the high cost of the vaccine, it would be difficult to vaccinate a large percentage of the children. The government of India should consider the inclusion of varicella vaccine in the National Immunization Schedule with the help of International agencies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, Haryana, India. dr.rameshverma@yahoo.co.in
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Mohan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bairwa
authors.forename: Suraj
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chawla
authors.forename: Shankar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prinja
authors.forename: Meena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rajput
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs; D007115:Immunization Schedule; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D032541:Mass Vaccination; D011634:Public Health
chemical_list: D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine