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Immunity to varicella zoster virus among young adults: a decline prior to widespread uptake of varicella vaccines.
Grotto, I; Balicer, R D; Smetana, Z; Davidovitch, N; Bar-Zeev, Y; Mendelson, E; Zarka, S; Huerta, M.
Affiliation
  • Grotto I; Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. grotto@bgu.ac.il
Infection ; 36(2): 130-4, 2008 Mar.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18379727
BACKGROUND: The epidemiology of chickenpox in Israel is changing, mainly due to the increasing - but not universal - uptake of varicella vaccine. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a seroprevalence study of varicella zoster virus (VZV) antibodies among 536 Israeli military recruits 18 years of age, on the basis of a representative sample of sera collected in 2003. RESULTS: The overall seroprevalence rate was 94.6%, which was significantly lower than that observed in a similar population in 1992 (98.4%, p < 0.001). The rate was lower among subjects whose fathers had less than 12 years of schooling (89.8%, p = 0.033). No statistically significant differences were observed when data were stratified by sex, subject's level of education, or origin. CONCLUSION: This decline in the level of immunity must be considered when determining pre- and post-exposure vaccination policy among young adults in crowded environments.
Subject(s)

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Seroepidemiologic Studies / Chickenpox / Herpesvirus 3, Human / Chickenpox Vaccine / Antibodies, Viral Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: En Journal: Infection Year: 2008 Document type: Article Affiliation country: Israel Country of publication: Alemania

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Seroepidemiologic Studies / Chickenpox / Herpesvirus 3, Human / Chickenpox Vaccine / Antibodies, Viral Limits: Adolescent / Adult / Female / Humans / Male Country/Region as subject: Asia Language: En Journal: Infection Year: 2008 Document type: Article Affiliation country: Israel Country of publication: Alemania