J Korean Med Sci.
2019 Mar;34(10):e83. 10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e83.
Effects of One-dose Varicella Vaccination on Disease Severity in Children during Outbreaks in Seoul, Korea
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Epidemiology, Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Institute of Infectious Disease, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. docmohw@snu.ac.kr
- 3Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
- 4Division of Infectious Disease Surveillance, Center for Control of Infectious Diseases, KCDC, Osong, Korea.
- 5Division of Infectious Diseases, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 6Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- KMID: 2441921
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2019.34.e83
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
In Korea, the incidence of varicella has increased despite the introduction of a universal one-dose vaccination for children aged 12-15 months in 2005. A previous study demonstrated that the vaccine effectiveness was insufficient to prevent against varicella. We assessed the effect of the varicella vaccination on disease severity.
METHODS
Epidemiologic investigation of varicella cases in Seoul metropolitan area from 2015 to 2017 were used. Varicella-related symptoms such as rash were determined by the clinical practitioners. Disease severity of patients was assessed by the number of skin lesions and divided into mild (≤ 50) and moderate (51-249) to severe (≥ 250). Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed and age was controlled.
RESULTS
Among a total of 1,008 varicella cases reported, 869 cases were breakthrough cases and 139 were unvaccinated cases. The risk for occurrence of moderate-to-severe disease in the breakthrough group was 0.57 times less than that of the unvaccinated group.
CONCLUSION
These data suggest that national varicella vaccination may have a significant effect on attenuation of disease severity in children.
