Abstract
Data on local epidemiology is necessary when deciding on the introduction of a vaccine. Parents of children attending 1st and 6th grades completed a questionnaire on demographical data and varicella history. Analyzing 70,226 questionnaires, varicella was reported in 63.6% and 78.6% of 1st and 6th grade children, respectively (mean age 4.75 years), indicating that a quarter of children entering adolescence are susceptible. Children attending day care and children with older siblings had contracted chickenpox at a younger age. In conclusion, in Greece, in addition to introducing universal varicella vaccination, it is necessary to identify older children at risk and offer catchup vaccination.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank all of the teachers who voluntarily participated in this study and took the time to distribute the questionnaires, reinforce their completion, and collected and sent them back to us. We would also like to thank Vianex for supporting us financially for the postal expenses.
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Katsafadou, A., Ferentinos, G., Constantopoulos, A. et al. The epidemiology of varicella in school-aged Greek children before the implementation of universal vaccination. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 27, 223–226 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-007-0418-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-007-0418-x