The Epidemiology of Varicella-Zoster Virus Infections

Wharton, Melinda

doi:10.1016/s0891-5520(05)70313-5

“…age distribution, incidence, seasonality and morbidity) is similar between Canada and the United Kingdom and is consistent with studies in other developed countries [1,6,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Though sentinel reporting may overestimate the proportion of cases in older age groups (due to a larger proportion consulting their physicians), most consultations are for childhood infection.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Epidemiology of varicella zoster virus infection in Canada and the United Kingdom

Brisson

¹

,

Edmunds

²

,

Law

³

et al. 2001

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SUMMARYMany countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Population-based data including physician visit claims, sentinel surveillance and hospitalization data from Canada and the United Kingdom were analysed. The key epidemiological characteristics of varicella and zoster (age specific consultation rates, seasonality, force of infection, hospitalization rates and inpatient days) were compared. Results show that the overall epidemiology of varicella and zoster is remarkably similar between the two countries. The major difference being that, contrary to Canada, the epidemiology of varicella seems to be changing in the United Kingdom with an important decrease in the average age at infection that coincides with a significant increase in children attending preschool. Furthermore, differences exist in the seasonality between the United Kingdom and Canada, which seem to be primarily due to the school calendar. These results illustrate that school and preschool contact patterns play an important role in the dynamics of varicella. Finally, our results provide baseline estimates of varicella and zoster incidence and morbidity for VZV vaccine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies.

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“…Hospital admission data from Manitoba and England show a steep increase in both varicella and zoster hospitalizations and average number of inpatient days with age. This is consistent with results from the United States although the age-specific proportion of cases that result in hospitalization is slightly lower in the United States [32,[34][35][36]46]. Theses dissimilarities are most likely due to the difference in the structure of the various health systems.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…age distribution, incidence, seasonality and morbidity) is similar between Canada and the United Kingdom and is consistent with studies in other developed countries [1,6,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Though sentinel reporting may overestimate the proportion of cases in older age groups (due to a larger proportion consulting their physicians), most consultations are for childhood infection.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Annual periodicity of varicella has also been observed in France and the United Kingdom [33,34]. Contrary to Canada, which has one peak (June, Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…Similar to other industrialized countries [37,39], more than 60 % of zoster cases in Canada and the United Kingdom are in adults over 45 years old. The highest rate of zoster is in 65j year olds [34,38] and seems to be increasing in the elderly population. This is at least partly attributable to the ageing of the population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Epidemiology of varicella zoster virus infection in Canada and the United Kingdom – CORRIGENDUM

Brisson¹,

Edmunds

²

,

Law³

et al. 2014

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SUMMARYMany countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Population-based data including physician visit claims, sentinel surveillance and hospitalization data from Canada and the United Kingdom were analysed. The key epidemiological characteristics of varicella and zoster (age specific consultation rates, seasonality, force of infection, hospitalization rates and inpatient days) were compared. Results show that the overall epidemiology of varicella and zoster is remarkably similar between the two countries. The major difference being that, contrary to Canada, the epidemiology of varicella seems to be changing in the United Kingdom with an important decrease in the average age at infection that coincides with a significant increase in children attending preschool. Furthermore, differences exist in the seasonality between the United Kingdom and Canada, which seem to be primarily due to the school calendar. These results illustrate that school and preschool contact patterns play an important role in the dynamics of varicella. Finally, our results provide baseline estimates of varicella and zoster incidence and morbidity for VZV vaccine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies.

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