title: Seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus in five US-bound refugee populations.
abstract: Little is known about varicella-zoster virus (VZV) susceptibility in US-bound refugee populations, although published data suggest that VZV seroprevalence in these refugee populations may be lower than US populations. We describe VZV seroprevalence in five US-bound refugee groups: (1) Bhutanese in Nepal, (2) Burmese on the Thailand-Burma (Myanmar) border, (3) Burmese in Malaysia, (4) Iraqi in Jordan, and (5) Somali in Kenya. Sera were tested for presence of VZV IgG antibodies among adults aged 18-45 years. Overall VZV seroprevalence was 97% across all refugee groups. VZV seroprevalence was also high across all age groups, with seroprevalence ranging from 92-100% for 18-26 year-olds depending on refugee group and 93-100% for 27-45 year-olds. VZV seroprevalence was unexpectedly high in these five US-bound refugee groups, though may not reflect seroprevalence in other refugee groups. Additional studies are needed to better understand VZV seroprevalence in refugee populations over time and by region.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA, JLeung@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Tarissa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weinberg
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thieme
authors.forename: D Scott
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Stephanie R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Bialek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001631:Bhutan / Q000208:ethnology; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D002052:Myanmar / Q000208:ethnology; D009390:Nepal / Q000208:ethnology; D012036:Refugees; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012998:Somalia / Q000208:ethnology