Universal Chickenpox Vaccination Programme Vital
According to researchers, a universal child vaccination programme is the sole method by which the effects of chickenpox - ultimately including death - can be safeguarded against. They added that, in a particular 13-month stretch, six fatalities and 112 severe situations were recorded in children with chickenpox living in the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic.
Chickenpox is attributable to the Varicella virus. In most cases, it proves to be relatively mild and, in 90 per cent of instances, occurs in children aged below 15yrs. However, although rare, potentially lethal complications can develop in a minority of children - both healthy, and those with alternative health issues.
Between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent of child chickenpox cases, on average, result in hospitalisation.
Researchers from a number of establishments combined to assess the situation over 13 months. They came from Bristol and London-based universities, as well the Health Protection Scotland Group.
They discovered a wide variation in the complications that could be experienced within the minority chickenpox group. However, those most frequently observed were pneumonia, encephalitis, bacterial poisoning of the blood, and reduced control over the muscles. Rarer were instances involving toxic shock syndrome, or necrotising fasciitis.
Overall, six deaths were noted, of which one was that of an unborn baby.
Researchers Urge for All Children to be Vaccinated Against Chickenpox
The researchers' findings were presented in an article that appeared in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal. In this, they stressed how the complications were clearly not just confined to children with other diseases and, hence, the vaccination of all children was the sole way forward.
"Universal vaccination would therefore be the only realistic option to prevent severe complications and deaths, as few, if any, could be identified as potentially preventable under the current UK policy", urged the researchers.
An editorial that ran alongside the researchers' article included comments provided by clinicians based at Bristol Children's Hospital. Here, they suggested that, if even a vaccination was not provided to every child, the introduction of a programme to vaccinate teenagers who historically had never had chickenpox would act against serious strains of it in adult life.
They added that, of the options whereby the child vaccination could be implemented, that involving its addition to the present vaccine against MMR could be unpopular with the general public.
Furthermore, the clinicians highlighted how cases of shingles - attributable in adults to the same virus as causes chickenpox - could increase if every child received the vaccination. Adults who, as children, had chickenpox, are statistically unlikely to suffer from a second bout in later life. However, the tendency of the virus to persist in the body means, should general immunity start to fail, it can show itself again, but as a harsh rash.
Despite this, sharing a house with children suffering from chickenpox serves to boost immunity against shingles.
The Herpes Viruses Association's Nigel Scott, commenting on the situation, stated: "If we had to choose between the two, we would advocate vaccinating the elderly, as shingles is far more likely to cause serious health problems in many more people than is chickenpox in the young. Any benefits to children from a chickenpox vaccine would have to be offset against any potential increase in adult chickenpox and shingles in the elderly.
"The effect on the whole population needs to be considered, not just one age group."
A large number of nations already have a chickenpox immunisation programme up and running, In the UK, the Department of Health is now contemplating the issue of introducing a similar scheme.
A spokesman from the department stated: "The immunisation programme in England has been developed to meet the needs of the population and is based on independent scientific advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
"JCVI has commissioned an expert sub-group to look at all the scientific and medical evidence on chickenpox vaccines, including this recently published paper, and it will provide advice in due course."
Source - Pharmaceutical International's Health Reporter
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