Diseases information. Disorders. Treatment. » Chickenpox

Varicella and zoster. Conclusion.

Jammy B. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:49:34 +0000

In light of these studies, the ACIP and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) formulated a series of recommendations for the routine use of varicella vaccine. Varicella vaccine may be given simultaneously with measles-mumps- rubella vaccine (MMR), but the vaccines should not be mixed in one syringe or administered in the same site. No data suggest any adverse interaction between varicella and other vaccines administered routinely to children. Postimmunization serologic testing is not recommended for young children or adolescents. For health care workers employed in areas with immunocompromised children, postimmunization serologic testing may be helpful in documenting seroconversion and simplifying management of exposures in high-risk areas.
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The vaccines are not licensed for use in immunocompromised children or adults, including those who have congenital immunodeficiency, blood dyscrasias, leukemia, lymphoma, symptomatic HIV infection, or those receiving immunosuppressive agents or corticosteroids (2 mg/kg per day or greater for longer than 1 month). No precautions need to be taken in immunized patients whose families contain immunocompromised members because transmission of vaccine virus has been documented infrequently, and the virus has been shown to retain its attenuated phenotype. However, if a rash develops in the vaccinee, contact with immunosuppressed patients should be avoided for the duration of the rash. Varicella vaccine may be given to patients who have acute lymphocytic leukemia after they have been in remission for 1 year and have a lymphocyte count greater than 700/mcL and a platelet count greater than 100,000/mcL within 24 hours of immunization. Patients who have undergone immunosuppressive therapies may be vaccinated after at least 3 months has passed and evidence of immune suppression is lacking. Patients receiving greater than 2 mg/kg of systemic cortico-steroid therapy must be off steroids for at least 1 month prior to receiving the vaccine. Inhaled or intranasal corticosteroids are not a contraindication to varicella vaccination.
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With routine administration of varicella vaccine to all young children and to those individuals not previously infected, there is reason to believe that chickenpox can be eliminated. Maxaman

Varicella zoster prevention

admin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:39:29 +0000

Passive immunization
In 1978, VZIG prepared from the plasma of normal volunteers identified by routine screening to contain high antibody titers to VZV became available. Administration of VZIG to exposed individuals may prevent or reduce the intensity of disease. A carefully documented history of chickenpox is a primary consideration when determining whether a person is immune to varicella. The type and duration of exposure also will determine the risk of acquiring disease. Patients who are exposed continuously to family members who have disease are at the greatest risk. VZIG is of maximum benefit when administered as soon as possible after the presumed exposure, but it remains effective if given as late as 96 hours after exposure.
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Active immunization
The live attenuated varicella vaccine was attenuated by propagation in human embryonic lung fibroblasts, guinea pig embryonic cells, and finally in two different cell lines of human diploid cell cultures. The varicella vaccine has been tested extensively in the United States since 1981, and several formulations have been administered to nearly 10,000 healthy children and 2,000 healthy adolescents and adults.
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Serologic responses to the varicella vaccine have been brisk. Using a sensitive glycoprotein enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, seroconversion rates of more than 95% have been documented in children 12 months to 12 years of age. Although pre-existing antibody did not appear to decrease the rate of seroresponse to vaccine, responses were not as strong as those seen with natural infection. Immunogenicity of the vaccine was lower in adolescents and adults, with seroconversion rates of 79% to 82% after one dose and 94% after two doses. Persistence of antibody was noted in children in the United States followed for 6 years. In serologic studies conducted in vaccinees in Japan and in the United States, antibodies to varicella were detected for up to 10 years after vaccination in more than 95% of those immunized.
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The vaccine has proven to be effective in clinical trials for more than 10 years. Although breakthrough infections occur in some vaccinated persons, the disease is usually mild. Vaccine efficacy was evaluated in a double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled trial of children 1 to 14 years of age. Efficacy was 100% during the first year after vaccination and 96% after the second season. Vaccine efficacy was estimated to be 95% after 7 years. Protection against any disease in vaccinees after household exposure was approximately 70%, but it was greater than 95% against more severe disease.

Central nervous system complications

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:48:33 +0000

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

Central nervous system complications also are seen in varicella. Cerebellar ataxia is the most common, with an incidence of approximately 1 per 4,000 cases in children younger than 15 years of age. It has an excellent prognosis. Varicella encephalitis usually develops 7 to 10 days into the disease, but it has been recorded as early as 1 day prior to or as late as 20 days after development of the rash. Encephalitis early in the disease process may represent replication of the virus in brain tissue, but post-infectious hypersensitivity phenomena also may produce clinical encephalitis. There are two clinical syndromes of varicella encephalitis. The first, which is more common, is characterized by a gradual onset of lethargy, ataxia, and encephalop-athy. The second presentation is heralded by sudden high fever, with convulsions and paralysis. Mild cerebrospinal fluid lympho-cytosis is seen in nearly 50% of the patients presenting with either form of encephalitis. Acute varicella encephalitis has a mortality rate of 5% to 20%, and neurologic sequelae are seen in 15% of survivors. The incidence of encephalitis is 1.7 per 100,000 cases. Other neurologic syn- dromes, including aseptic meningitis, transverse myelitis, and Guillain-Barre syndrome, have been reported, but are less common. Female viagra is a FDA approved drug treating sexual disorders in women.
PNEUMONIA

Varicella pneumonia is the third most common complication and occurs much more frequently in previously healthy adults or in immunocompromised children, although it has been reported in otherwise well children. Chest radiography usually reveals bilateral patchy infiltrates.
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MISCELLANEOUS

Hemorrhagic varicella is seen occasionally, and there are several forms. Hemorrhage at sites of pox lesions does not always herald a more severe course, although some patients develop malignant chickenpox with purpura, which is associated with a 70% mortality. In any hemorrhagic form of varicella, thrombocytopenia is common, and there may be a slightly increased bleeding time, although clotting times are normal. A syndrome of late, postinfectious purpura also can occur, which is characterized by a much longer duration of bleeding and thrombocytopenia (sometimes as long as 5 weeks).

Reye syndrome, which presents with persistent vomiting and decreasing mental status, has been associated with varicella more frequently than with other viral infections. The reported incidence has been decreasing steadily over the past 15 years, and the reasons for the decline are not entirely clear. It is reassuring to ascribe the changing incidence to the decreased use of aspirin in childhood, but the decline seems to be more striking than the curtailed use of aspirin products. Nevertheless, aspirin or salicylate-containing products (including, for example, bismuth subsalicylate) should not be given to any child who has varicella.
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Mono or polyarticular arthritis has been reported with VZV infection, and the virus has been grown from joint fluid. However, acute bacterial septic arthritis is more common. Myocarditis and glomerulonephritis also have been reported

Zoster or shingles is a disease that increases in frequency with advancing age, but it can be seen at any age, including in neonates. It is three times more common among adolescents than it is among preschoolers. Children who contract varicella in the first year of life have a 3- to 20-fold increased risk of developing zoster. Nearly 50% of all zoster cases in children involve the thoracic area. Severe pain and postherpetic neuralgia are uncommon. Lesions may persist for 3 to 4 weeks. Despite the frequent development of zoster in patients who have leukemia, herpes zoster in children does not imply occult malignancy. Infants who have zoster have had VZV infection in the womb, and signs of congenital varicella should be sought, especially chorioretinitis.

Varicella. Clinical Manifestations

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:02:16 +0000

PRIMARY INFECTION
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Primary infection with VZV produces the well-known clinical syndrome of varicella or chickenpox. Low-grade fever may precede the development of the rash by 1 to 2 days. The characteristic rash involves lesions that appear in crops and proceed through a series of well-defined stages. The lesions start as erythematous macules, progress to vesiculation with the classic “dew drop on a rose petal” appearance, become pustular, and finally crust over. The hallmark of the varicella rash is the simultaneous presence of lesions of different stages. The rash tends to appear initially on the trunk, then spread to the face, neck, and extremities. Mucous membranes can be involved. The lesions are intensely pruritic. Systemic manifestations of illness usually are mild or absent. In immunocompetent children, new crops of lesions continue to appear for a few days; by 4 or 5 days, most are crusted over, and new lesions no longer form.
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The severity of illness is related inversely to age. Primary varicella tends to be milder in young children, and teenagers and adults can become seriously ill. For reasons that remain to be elucidated, pregnancy seems to be an independent risk factor for severe varicella, although the association is controversial.
PRENATAL INFECTION

Prenatal infection is uncommon because most women of childbearing age are immune to varicella. Although rare, a congenital varicella syndrome occurs in nearly 2% of infants born to women who con-tract varicella in the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Congenital varicella syndrome is characterized by small infant size, cutaneous scarring, limb hypoplasia, microcephaly, cortical atrophy, chorioretinitis, cataracts, and other anomalies. Approximately 2% of infants who have intrauterine exposure to varicella develop zoster in infancy or early childhood.
PERINATAL INFECTION
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Early studies suggested that the risk of death was as high as 31% among infants whose mothers had onset of primary varicella rash 0 to 4 days before birth. However, most believe that this statistic probably is inflated by selective reporting. The use of varicella zoster immune globulin (VZIG) in these infants has been associated with a markedly better prognosis. There is no evidence to suggest that postnatally acquired varicella infection is any more severe in neonates than it is in older infants.

Varicella zoster virus

Jammy B. — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:11:40 +0000

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella, the most common exanthematous disease of childhood. After the acute infection, VZV remains latent in the dorsal root ganglia; reactivation of the virus later in life causes zoster. VZV is ubiquitous, and humans are the only known host. It is estimated that there are 4 million cases per year in the United States, of which 90% occur in children between the ages of 1 and 14 years. Seropositivity reaches 95% by the late teen years and is close to 100% by age 60. The virus is highly contagious, with secondary household infection rates of about 80% to 90%. In temperate climates, a seasonal peak occurs between March and May. There are approximately 6,500 to 9,000 hospitalizations and 100 to 200 deaths in the United States annually from varicella or its complications. Approximately 300,000 cases of zoster are reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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The primary source of infectious material is the fresh cutaneous lesion, which is teeming with virus. Unlike the poxviruses, VZV does not persist in scabs or crusts. It generally is believed that the period of communicability begins 1 to 2 days before the onset of rash and persists for 5 days or until skin lesions are crusting. The incubation period for varicella is approximately 14 days, but it can be as short as 10 or as long as 21 days. VZV infection also can be spread from zoster lesions to susceptible hosts, although the incidence of contagion is lower.

Pathogenesis
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Varicella-zoster virus is an alpha-herpesvirus. Like all herpes group viruses, it is an enveloped, icosahedral virus that contains a double-stranded DNA genome. Chickenpox begins with replication of the virus at sites of contact and is followed by a primary viremia. A secondary viremia occurs after about 1 week, which disseminates the infection to the skin, causing the familiar rash to appear. As the acute disease abates, the virus establishes latency in sensory ganglia. Reactivation of latent infection causes zoster or “shingles,” which produces pain and a vesicular rash in the distribution of one to three dermatomes. Replication of the virus in the ganglia is destructive to ganglion cells, which may account for the pain associated with zoster. Unlike herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 or 2, which can reactivate frequently, it is uncommon for VZV to reactivate more than once. The exception is chronic or recurrent zoster that has been seen with some frequency in patients who have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Exactly what precipitates reactivation of the latent virus is not clear. The incidence of zoster increases with age, however, and this has been correlated with decreasing cell-mediated immunity to VZV. Immunity to varicella appears to be lifelong; that is, second clinical cases of varicella are rare.
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