Vaccine Reduces Hospitalizations Due to Chickenpox

New research has revealed the effectiveness of the chickenpox vaccine in Australia, which has had a record breaking reduction in the number of hospitalizations due to severe chicken pox, according to recent study.

Before the vaccine was introduced, nearly 240,000 chickenpox cases were recorded each year in Australia along with 1500 hospitalizations and nearly 16 deaths.

Get Chicken Pox Vaccine, Stop Shingles Risk in Kids
Herpes Zoster, also known as Shingles, is very rare among children who have been vaccinated against Chicken Pox, say scientists.

Since the vaccine was brought in, there has been a 68% drop in the number of admissions to hospital. A national study which measured the number of chickenpox admissions at four hospitals showed the success rate of the chicken pox vaccine.

Further, among the children who needed hospitalizations due to severe chicken pox, 80 % had not received the immunizations.

"These results are a very strong endorsement of the impact of the chickenpox vaccine," the study's lead author Helen Marshall from the University of Adelaide said.

Chicken Pox | Varicella Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Complications FAQs
Chicken pox is an acute and highly contagious viral infection caused by the varicella zoster virus.

The study also showed that hospital admissions due to chicken pox have come down to below 500 presently.

About Shingles
In ‘Shingles’ or ‘Herpes Zoster’ painful skin rashes appear usually on the side of chest wall. It is caused by chicken pox virus called varicella zoster.

Source-Medindia