title: Susceptibility to varicella-zoster among pregnant women in the province of Lecce, Italy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Varicella is predominantly a childhood disease, considered a mild self-limiting disease that can have serious complications for a pregnant woman and her developing fetus.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the susceptibility to varicella-zoster Virus (VZV) among pregnant women in the province of Lecce.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out in Departments of Gynecology and Obstetrics of the Province of Lecce, where 539 pregnant women were recruited, and face-to-face interviews were conducted. Varicella IgG tests were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of varicella susceptibility among pregnant mothers was 10.6%. The prevalence of IgG antibodies increases significantly with increasing age, from 62.5% in the age group 15-19 years to 94.4% in the age group 40-49 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the Italian National Vaccination Plan 2005-2007, varicella vaccine is only recommended for childbearing women. A safe and effective vaccine is available and no abnormalities have been observed among infants born to susceptible women who received varicella vaccines during pregnancy. Such a high number of susceptible women indicates that preventive and informative programs should be introduced, even among those who do not plan to become pregnant. Routine counselling, varicella IgG antibody screening and varicella vaccination should be considered if they have no history of the infection, to reduce the risk of fetal complications and the cost of healthcare associated with the infection.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hygiene, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, Faculty of Sciences, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guido
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tinelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Donno
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quattrocchi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malvasi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campilongo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zizza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine / Q000276:immunology / Q000592:standards; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D017589:Immunization Programs / Q000592:standards; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014611:Vaccination / Q000592:standards; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D019433:Chickenpox Vaccine; D007074:Immunoglobulin G