Get Varicella Chickenpox Or Zoster Shingles Case Report - Co Dakota Mn

Due to robust vaccination programs, there is no longer discernable seasonality for varicella cases in the United States. In January 2024, 53 varicella cases were reported in 20 counties, outlined in black in the map below.

Varicella outbreaks continue to occur even in settings such as schools where most children are vaccinated. However, there have been fewer outbreaks reported since the two-dose varicella vaccination program started in the United States. Also, these outbreaks have been smaller in size and shorter in duration.

More than 95 percent of American adults have had chickenpox and about 4,000,000 people get chickenpox every year.

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is caused by reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes varicella (chickenpox). Primary infection with VZV causes varicella. After a person has varicella, the virus remains latent in the dorsal root ganglia.

The illness is often more severe in adults compared to children. Most people who have had chickenpox will be immune to the disease for the rest of their lives. However, the virus remains inactive in nerve tissue and may reactivate later in life causing shingles. Very rarely, a second case of chickenpox does happen.

A positive IgG ELISA result indicates that a person has antibodies to VZV either from past varicella disease or vaccination. This test cannot distinguish whether the antibodies were from a past episode of varicella or vaccination.

In the U.S., the program was implemented in 1995 and the number of cases went from more than 4 million cases per year to less than 150,000 cases per year as per the recent data in 2022. This resulted in a significant decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths per year from varicella infection [20].

Is chickenpox common? More than 95 percent of American adults have had chickenpox and about 4,000,000 people get chickenpox every year. Since the chickenpox vaccine was introduced in 1995, less and less children are getting the disease.