Chicken Pox Vaccine May Also Reduce Risk of Shingles Among Children

4 Dec 2009 06:01 Africa/Lagos

Chicken Pox Vaccine May Also Reduce Risk of Shingles Among Children

Study used electronic health records to follow 172,000 children

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against chicken pox, according to a Kaiser Permanente study in the December issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.


The study, the largest of its kind, used electronic health records to identify more than 170,000 children vaccinated with the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine from 2002 to 2008 in Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region, then followed children for an average of two and a half years to identify the occurrence of herpes zoster.


Researchers found only 122 cases of herpes zoster among the 172,163 vaccinated children, for an estimated incidence of 1 case per 3,700 vaccinated children per year. This is a lower rate compared to what one would expect in the unvaccinated children based on previous experiences.


"The message to parents and pediatricians is: vaccinating your child against the chicken pox is also a good way to reduce their chances of getting herpes zoster," said the study's lead author, HungFu Tseng, Ph.D, MPH, a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif. "More research is needed to identify the virus strains that cause herpes zoster."


This study did not look at side effects of the varicella vaccine.


Herpes zoster is an acute skin viral infection caused by reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus, which remains in certain nerve cells of the body after an infection with either wild-type or the varicella vaccine virus. The wild-type virus is found in the natural infection, in contrast to the virus strain found in vaccine.


Since the vaccine's introduction in 1995, there have been few studies on the incidence of childhood herpes zoster among children vaccinated with the varicella vaccine.


Following licensure in 1995, 1-dose varicella vaccine was recommended for children 12 months to 12 years of age. In 2006, a routine second dose of varicella vaccine for previously vaccinated persons aged 4 years and older was recommended.


Other study authors included: Ning Smith, MS, Lina S. Sy, MPH, S Michael Marcy, MD, and Steven J. Jacobsen, MD, Ph.D., from the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research and Evaluation.


About the Kaiser Permanente Department for Research and Evaluation


The Department of Research and Evaluation conducts high quality, innovative research into disease etiology, prevention, treatment and care delivery. Investigators conduct epidemiology, health sciences, and behavioral research as well as clinical trials. Areas of interest include diabetes and obesity, cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, aging and cognition, pregnancy outcomes, women's and children's health, quality and safety, and pharmacoepidemiology. Located in Pasadena, Calif., the department focuses on translating research to practice quickly to benefit the health and lives of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members and the general population. Visit www.kp.org/research.


About Kaiser Permanente


Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.


Source: Kaiser Permanente

CONTACT: Danielle Cass, +1-510-267-5354, danielle.x.cass@kp.org, or
Socorro Serrano, +1-626-405-5534, socorro.serrano@kp.org, both of Kaiser
Permanente; or Emily Schwartz, +1-415-274-7926, eschwartz@golinharris.com, for
Kaiser Permanente


Web Site: http://www.kp.org/research
http://www.kp.org/newscenter
http://www.kaiserpermanente.org/