Should the chickenpox vaccine be included in the National Immunization Schedule in India?

ABSTRACT

Varicella (chickenpox) is an acute, highly contagious viral disease with worldwide distribution. The highest prevalence occurs in the 4-10 year age group but tends to be more severe in adults. It may be fatal in neonates, immunocompromised persons, and normal adults, especially smokers. Varicella is usually a benign childhood disease, and rarely rated as an important public health problem, but this can be severe and even fatal in otherwise healthy children (< 1 out of every 10,000 cases). Chickenpox can cause pneumonia (23 out of every 10,000 cases), and is an important risk factor for developing severe invasive "strep" (group A streptococcal disease). Complications of varicella include bacterial infections (up to 5% of cases), decreased platelets, arthritis, hepatitis, pneumonia (more commonly in adults) or encephalitis (1 in 10,000 cases), which may cause a failure of muscular coordination, sometimes resulting in persistent sequelae or death. Varicella is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children. Universal vaccination can cause a dramatic reduction in the incidence of varicella, associated complications, hospitalizations and fatality rates. In India, due to the high cost of the vaccine, it would be difficult to vaccinate a large percentage of the children. The government of India should consider the inclusion of varicella vaccine in the National Immunization Schedule with the help of International agencies.