Immunization Newsbriefs (c) Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for Immunization Information (NNii). Visit NNii's new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.

———————————————————————

June 13, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS 

“U.S. Health Officials Concerned by Chickenpox Deaths”

Reuters Health Information Services (www.reutershealth.com) (06/12/03); Rauscher, Megan

Dr. Mona Marin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Immunization Program asserts that preventing deaths related to chickenpox is a priority, and she notes that the availability of a varicella vaccine makes the disease preventable.  The June 13th issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describes two of the nine fatal cases of varicella reported to the CDC last year.  Both patients, says Marin, were previously healthy but unvaccinated and had been exposed to unvaccinated children who had the chickenpox; and she adds that varicella-related deaths are underreported, even though they are supposed to be reported to the National Immunization Program.  Data from the National Center for Health Statistics for 2000 indicate that varicella was the primary cause of death listed on 44 death certificates from 23 states and Washington, D.C.; however, only 20 percent of those cases were reported to the CDC.