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February 26, 2003

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Dismissing Chickenpox Can Sometimes Be Fatal"

Irish News (www.irishnews.com) (02/25/03) P. 31; Hillsley, Craig

Chickenpox is often perceived as a common and benign childhood malady, but epidemiologists warn that the disease can, in some instances, kill. Professor Norman Noah, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, says between 25 and 30 people in Britain die from chickenpox each year.  In fact, the number of fatal cases of chickenpox has steadily risen since the 1960s; nearly 120 deaths were attributed to the disease between 1967 to 1977, and 269 from 1986 to 1997.  Children between the ages of two to seven are most susceptible to the disease, which usually takes one to two weeks to run its course.  But pediatricians caution parents not to take the disease too lightly; one in five deaths from chickenpox occur in children.  A chickenpox vaccine is available in the United States and Australia; however it is not yet available through the National Health Service.

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