Forms and Instructions
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Varicella (chicken pox) in otherwise healthy children is usually a self-limited disease with fever, decreased appetite/activity and an itchy rash lasting about five days. Chicken pox is one of the most contagious diseases, spread by air and skin contact. About ninety deaths occur each year from chicken pox, mostly in otherwise healthy people under twenty years of age. Varicella is also costly in terms of time lost from work for the parents and the cost of medication to treat symptoms. About 15% of those who have chicken pox will have reactivation of the virus later in life in the form of shingles. Varicella vaccine was licensed by the FDA on March 1995. Those children age one year old and older may receive it. (Persons under age 18 without a history of Varicella are probably susceptible to infection.) About 10,000 children in the U.S. were vaccinated in clinical trials, and over 2 million vaccines have been given in Japan, Korea and Europe. One dose in children and two doses in people 13 years and older give immunity in 95% of those immunized. Side effects include pain, fever, and a slight rash in about 7-8% of those immunized. This vaccine is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Please contact your doctor for more information.
Lisa A Turner, M.D., is board certified in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at Longmont Clinic.
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