HHS HealthBeat (September 02, 2008)

Beating chickenpox

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics find that widespread vaccination has driven down the rates of chickenpox cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Although chickenpox generally is a mild childhood disease, the virus can open the path to very serious complications.

That’s why the dramatic drop that Jane Seward reports is important:

``Cases of chickenpox have declined in the range 80 to 90 percent from 1995 to 2005 or 2006.’’ (8 seconds)

Deaths from chickenpox are now rare, especially in children.

Seward reminds us that a two-shot chickenpox series is now recommended for children – and for adults. Adults who don’t have immunity from vaccination or chickenpox itself should get protected.

The study is in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal, Pediatrics.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: September, 02 2008