Archive for the 'Varicella-zoster virus' Category

02
Oct

Varicella and zoster. Conclusion.

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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

28
Sep

Varicella. Active immunization

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In individuals who developed natural varicella after vaccination, the clinical course was much less severe than seen in unimmunized controls. Significant reductions in the number of skin lesions and extent of fever and an increased rate of recovery were seen in the vaccinated group. The investigators commented that disease frequently was so mild that it was not recognizable as varicella, resembling instead insect bites. The rate of natural varicella disease after vaccination averaged 1% to 3% per year. This is in contrast to an annual rate of 7% to 8% in unvaccinated children and has not changed with time after vaccination. In adults, complete protection was demonstrated after a household exposure to varicella in 70% of vaccinees. Those who acquired disease after exposure had a greatly attenuated clinical course, with fewer than 100 lesions and few systemic signs. According to the CDC, “Based on all available data, the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) concludes that the varicella virus vaccine provides 70% to 90% protection against infection and 95% protection against severe disease for 7 to 10 years after vaccination.”
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Varicella vaccine has been well tolerated by persons of all ages in clinical trials. Within 1 month of vaccination, 7% of vaccinees develop a mild maculopapular or vesicular rash either around the injection site or systemically, with a median of two to five lesions. Rarely has vaccine virus been isolated from these lesions. Twenty percent of children and 30% of adults complain of injection site pain, tenderness, or redness. In children, fever was not seen in significantly more vaccinees than in placebo recipients, but low-grade fever was noted in 15% of adult vaccinees. No increase in the incidence of reactions was noted in vaccinees who were seropositive prior to vaccine administration.
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The estimated incidence of later occurrence of zoster-like eruptions is 18 per 100,000 person-years. (Zoster after natural infection has an incidence of 77 per 100,000.) All cases were mild and without complications.

Spread of vaccine virus from the normal healthy vaccinee to susceptible contacts is theoretically possible but appears to be rare. To our knowledge, only one clinical case of disease has been reported after exposure to an immunized immunocompetent child. Seroconversion was noted in 3 of 446 vaccine contacts in one study. Children who had leukemia and received vaccine have been reported to spread vaccine virus to contacts, who developed mild illness or asymptomatic seroconversion.
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The major concern about routine use of vaccine has been the potential loss of immunity over time, with the possibility of acquiring natural disease in adulthood when the natural history of disease is more severe. No evidence for waning immunity has been documented in follow-up studies of vaccinees for up to 10 years. However, natural virus is circulating and may boost antibody levels. Extensive serologic followup of vaccinated individuals is ongoing after vaccine licensure to ensure that if antibody levels wane with time, routine booster immunizations can be given.

29
Jul

Varicella zoster prevention

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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.

28
Jul

Varicella treatment

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Acute, uncomplicated varicella in the young child is managed best by topical antipruritics such as calamine lotion, application of cool compresses, or by oatmeal baths. Children’s fingernails should be kept trimmed. Oral diphenhydramine sometimes is administered to help combat the intense itching. Clinicians should avoid the application of topical formulations that contain diphenhydramine while administering diphenhydramine orally; absorption of the medication through the skin can lead to toxic serum levels.
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Although oral acyclovir has been shown to decrease both the number and the duration of skin lesions, the benefits are marginal, and its routine administration is not indicated for uncomplicated varicella. Try canadian valtrex – discount pharmacy. Exceptions to this rule are adolescents, adults, children who have immune deficiencies, and second or third cases in a household in which the first child’s case was severe. VZV is much less sensitive to acyclovir than is HSV, and treatment requires much larger doses.
Treatment of encephalitis may be beneficial, and it usually is offered for acute forms. Postviral cerebellar ataxia does not require acyclovir treatment. Secondary bacterial infection of chickenpox lesions usually is due to Gram-positive organisms; antibiotics that are active against staphylococci and streptococci should be administered.

23
Jul

Central nervous system complications

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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.

22
Jul

Immunocompromised hosts

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Varicella in the immunocompromised host can be severe and life-threatening. Cell-mediated immunity appears to be the most important factor in the prognosis of primary varicella infection, as evidenced by the fact that patients who have pure humoral immune deficiency syndromes (such as Bruton agammaglobulinemia) do not seem to experience severe or protracted disease. As in immunocompetent individuals, administration of VZIG can prevent symptomatic infection, but it cannot clear an established infection.
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Patients who have reticuloendothelial tumors and leukemia are at particularly high risk for severe disease. Risk is increased by concomitant administration of immunosuppressive therapeutic agents. Approximately 20% of patients who have leukemia develop “progressive varicella,” with fever to 40.5°C (105°F), continued cutaneous eruption for 7 to 10 days, deeper skin lesions, and diffuse involvement that includes palms and soles. Patients who have leukemia have difficulty clearing the viremia, and the virus disseminates to internal organs, most frequently the lung, but also the liver or central nervous system. Visceral dissemination occurs in from 7% to 32% of patients who have leukemia. VZV also causes substantial mor-bidity and mortality in bone marrow transplant recipients. One report of 140 patients documented zoster in 77, dissemination in 22, and death in 7.
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The incubation period of VZV may be either shortened or prolonged in patients who are immunosuppressed and ranges from 8 to 24 days or even longer. The median is about 19 days. The incubation period is longer in those who receive VZIG.

Complications
Superinfection

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The most common complication of primary varicella is bacterial superinfection of pox lesions. Cellulitis, impetigo, or adenitis can be seen. These infections usually are caused by staphylococcal or streptococcal species and sometimes are mixed. In recent years, an increasing number of reports have linked group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection with varicella. Group A streptococci can cause a rapidly progressive cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis. For this reason, patients who develop cellulitic infection during the course of primary varicella should be observed carefully for progression and treated aggressively if rapid progression occurs. Often, surgical debridement and skin grafting are required. Hyponatremia and/or hypocalcemia suggest ongoing necrotizing fasciitis. Group A streptococcal pneumonia also has been associated with primary varicella; it tends to produce medium-to-large pulmonary effusions, and its course is marked by prolonged fever and slow recovery, even with appropriate antimicrobial therapy.
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