Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 May 2:2020:6183936.
doi: 10.1155/2020/6183936. eCollection 2020.

A Centralized Outbreak of Varicella among Children Attending Preschool in Suzhou, China

Min Zhang  1 , Guo-Ping Gui  1 , Feng Guo  1 , Xin-Fang Fan  1 , Ri-Sheng Zha  1
Affiliations

A Centralized Outbreak of Varicella among Children Attending Preschool in Suzhou, China

Min Zhang et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

Background: Varicella vaccine is available for voluntary purchase with a single dose currently recommended for children aged ≥12 months. An epidemiological study was undertaken in order to determine the characteristics of the outbreak, assess vaccine effectiveness, and examine risk factors for vaccine failure.

Methods: A varicella case was defined as a generalized papulovesicular rash (without other apparent causes) in a child without prior varicella attending the kindergarten during February 22 to April 7 of 2016. Varicella among vaccinated children (breakthrough varicella) was defined as varicella occurring >42 days after vaccination. Children's vaccination status was verified with immunization records through local vaccination information platform.

Results: Of the 738 children, 664 (90.0%) had no prior varicella history. Of these, 364 (54.8%) had received a single-dose varicella vaccine before outbreak. A total of 30 cases occurred in the outbreak, and 9 of them (30%) had breakthrough varicella. Age at vaccination (<15 months vs. ≥15 months) and time since vaccination before the outbreak (<3 years vs. ≥3 years) were not related to the occurrence of breakthrough varicella (P > 0.05). Single-dose varicella vaccination was 64.7% effective in preventing any varicella.

Conclusions: Single-dose varicella vaccine is effective in reducing the varicella attack rate, but not high enough to prevent outbreak. Timely detection and effective isolation are key factors in controlling varicella. Improving single-dose vaccination coverage and implementing two-dose vaccination strategy should be recommended to provide excellent protection to prevent varicella in the future in Suzhou.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vaccination and varicella status; a varicella outbreak in a preschool in Suzhou, China (2016) (n = 738).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Epidemic curve of a varicella in a preschool in Suzhou, China (2016).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Vaccination and varicella status of top class 6; a varicella outbreak in a preschool in Suzhou, China (2016) (n = 40).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Arvin A. M. Varicella-zoster virus. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 1996;9(3):361–381. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Heininger U., Seward J. F. Varicella. Lancet. 2006;368(9544):1365–1376. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69561-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang X., Yu Y., Zhang J., et al. The epidemiology of varicella cases among children in Beijing’s Fengtai District from 2008 to 2012. Vaccine. 2014;32(29):3569–3572. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.04.069. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Varicella and herpes zoster vaccines: WHO position paper, June 2014. Weekly Epidemiological Record. 2014;89:265–288. - PubMed
    1. Takahashi M., Otsuka T., Okuno Y., Asano Y., Yazaki T., Isomura S. Live vaccine used to prevent the spread of varicella in children in hospital. Lancet. 1974;304(7892):1288–1290. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(74)90144-5. - DOI - PubMed

Substances