Quick vaccination cuts risk of chickenpox after exposure
January 21st, 2010 - 6:02 pm ICT by ANIWashington, January 21 (ANI): According to a new study, people who haven’t had chickenpox and are exposed to an ill family member should get vaccinated within five days to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
The study conducted by Dr. Maria Brotons and colleagues of Hospital Universitario Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona tested with “postexposure prophylaxis,” a process of giving chickenpox (varicella) vaccine after exposure to the disease, in 67 patients.
The patients, including 21 children, were exposed to a family member with chickenpox. All patients received commercially available chickenpox vaccine within five days after exposure.
According to previous studies, it was estimated that 58 of the 67 patients would get sick after being exposed to chickenpox.
However, only 22 patients developed the disease after being vaccinated. Thus vaccination after exposure was about 62 percent effective in preventing chickenpox.
And, even when the disease did develop, it was mild to moderate in all cases.
Also, there was no difference in effectiveness between children and adults, or between patients vaccinated at different times after exposure up to 5 days post-exposure.
The study has been published in the January issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. (ANI)
- Double dose of chicken pox vaccine more effective - Jan 05, 2011
- Steroids to treat asthmatic children: How safe are they? - Feb 25, 2011
- Double doses of chicken pox vaccine most effective: Study - Jan 05, 2011
- Combo MMRV vaccine linked to 2-fold risk of seizures - Jun 28, 2010
- Rejecting chickenpox vaccine puts kids more at risk of disease - Jan 05, 2010
- FACTSHEETS - Smallpox: in detail - Mar 25, 2010
- Chicken pox vaccine cuts shingles risk in kids - Dec 05, 2009
- Interfering genes protect monkeys from lethal Ebola virus post-exposure - May 30, 2010
- Reshaping gut microbiome could pave way for bowel disease treatments - Aug 24, 2010
- Shingles vaccine cuts risk by 55 pc: Study - Jan 12, 2011
- Second-hand smoke ups invasive meningococcal disease risk in kids - Dec 08, 2010
- First full-face transplant patient displays new look after surgery - Jul 27, 2010
- Why vaccines do not work as well for some as they do for others - Dec 02, 2010
- Novel anti-shingles agent developed - Apr 22, 2011
- Vaccine made with synthetic gene shows promise against pneumonia - Feb 22, 2011
Tags: adults, barcelona, chickenpox, chickenpox vaccine, colleagues, different times, hebron, hospital universitario, ill family member, infectious disease, pediatric infectious disease, pediatric infectious disease journal, postexposure prophylaxis, risk, vaccination, vall, varicella, varicella vaccine
