Chicken Pox / અછબડા

1) What causes chickenpox?
Chickenpox is caused by a virus, the varicella-zoster
virus.

2) How does chickenpox spread?
Chickenpox spreads from person to person by direct
contact or through the air by coughing or sneezing.
It is highly contagious. It can also be spread through
direct contact with the fluid from a blister of a person
infected with chickenpox, or from direct contact
with a sore from a person with shingles.

3) How long does it take to show signs of chickenpox
after being exposed?
It takes from 10-21 days to develop symptoms after
being exposed to a person infected with chickenpox.
The usual time period is 14-16 days.

4) What are the symptoms of chickenpox?
The most common symptoms of chickenpox are
rash, fever, coughing, fussiness, headache, and loss
of appetite. The rash usually develops on the scalp
and body, and then spreads to the face, arms, and
legs. The rash usually forms 200-500 itchy blisters
in several successive crops. The illness lasts about
5-10 days.

5) How serious is chickenpox?
Many cases of chickenpox are mild, but deaths from
this disease can occur. Before the development of a
vaccine, about 100 people died every year in the
United States from chickenpox. Most of these people
were previously healthy. Chickenpox also accounted
for about 11,000 hospitalizations each year. Even
children with average cases of chickenpox are uncomfortable
and need to be kept out of daycare or school for a week or more.

6) What are possible complications from chickenpox?
The most common complication is bacterial infection
of the skin or other parts of the body including
the bones, lungs, joints, and blood. The virus can
also lead to pneumonia or infection of the brain.
These complications are rare but serious. Complications
are more common in infants, adults, and persons
with weakened immune systems.

7) How do I know if my child has chickenpox?
Usually chickenpox can be diagnosed by disease history
and appearance alone. Adults who need to know
if they’ve had chickenpox in the past can have this
determined by a laboratory test.

8) How long is a person with chickenpox contagious?
Patients with chickenpox are contagious for 1-2 days
before the rash appears and continue to be contagious
through the first 4-5 days or until all the blisters
are crusted over.

9) Is there a treatment for chickenpox?
Most cases of chickenpox in otherwise healthy children
are treated with bed rest, fluids, and control of
fever. Children with chickenpox should NOT receive
aspirin because of possible subsequent risk of Reye’s
syndrome. Acetaminophen may be given for fever
control. Chickenpox may be treated with an antiviral drug
in serious cases, depending on the patient’s age and
health, the extent of the infection, and the timing
of the treatment.

10) Can you get chickenpox more than once?
Most people are immune to chickenpox after having
the disease. However, although it is not common,
second cases of chickenpox can occur, particularly
in immunocompromised persons. If I think my child has been exposed to chickenpox,

11) what should I do?
If the child has had chickenpox or has been vaccinated,
nothing needs to be done. It is recommended
that a susceptible person (one who has never had
chickenpox) receive the chickenpox vaccine as soon
as possible after being exposed to the virus. There
is evidence that the vaccine may prevent illness or
reduce the seriousness of the disease, if given within
3 to 5 days following exposure. Even if the person
was not infected with the chickenpox virus from the
exposure, receiving the vaccination will prevent future
disease. How are chickenpox and shingles related?
Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same
virus. After a person has had chickenpox, the virus
rests in the body permanently, but silently. About
20% of all people who have been infected with chickenpox
later develop the disease known as herpes
zoster, or shingles. Symptoms of shingles are pain,
itching, blisters, and loss of feeling along a nerve.
Most cases occur in persons older than 50, and the
risk of developing shingles increases with age. In
May 2006, the FDA approved a zoster vaccine to prevent
shingles. Currently, the vaccine is only licensed
for persons age 60 years and older.

12) When did the chickenpox vaccine become
available?
The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine was first licensed
for use in Japan and Korea in 1988. After many years
of development, it was licensed in the United States
in 1995. Since that time, the number of hospitalizations
and deaths from varicella has declined more
than 90%. In 2005, a combination vaccine containing live attenuated
measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine was licensed for use in persons age
12 months through age 12 years.

13) What kind of vaccine is it?
The chickenpox vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine.
This means the live, disease-producing virus was
modified, or weakened, in the laboratory to produce
an organism that can grow and produce immunity
in the body without causing illness.

14) How is this vaccine administered?
The chickenpox vaccine is a shot, given in the fatty
tissue( Subcutaneous).

15) Who should get this vaccine?
Chickenpox vaccine is recommended for the following:
• All children younger than age 13 years (one dose
at 12-15 months and a second dose at age 4-6
years);
• Everyone age 13 years and older who has never
had chickenpox (two doses, given 4-8 weeks
apart);
Anyone missing a dose at the recommended times
should get the shot at their next visit to their doctor
or clinic.

16) Who recommends this vaccine?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP),
and the American Academy of Family Physicians
(AAFP) have all recommended that children receive
this vaccine.

17) Should adults be tested before vaccination to see if
they are already immune to chickenpox?
Currently, 90% of adults are immune to chickenpox
because of having had the disease as children. If
you have a history of chickenpox disease, you don’t
need testing or vaccination, unless you are working
in an environment where your immune status must
be documented (such as a hospital). If you are uncertain
of your medical history, blood testing can be
done to see if immunization is appropriate.

18) How safe is this vaccine?
Tens of millions of doses of varicella vaccine have
been given in the United States, and studies continue
to show that the vaccine is safe. Serious side effects
are very rare.

19) What side effects have been reported with this vaccine?
Possible side effects are generally mild and include
redness, stiffness, and soreness at the injection site;
such localized reactions occur in 19% of children immunized
and 24% of adolescents and adults (slightly more following the second dose).
A small percentage of persons develop a mild rash, usually around the
spot where the shot was given.

20) How effective is this vaccine?
Seventy-nine percent of children between age 12
months and 12 years develop immunity to the disease
after one dose of vaccine. For older children
and adults, an average of 78% develop immunity
after one dose and 99% develop immunity after the
recommended two doses.
Although some vaccinated children (about 2%) will
still get chickenpox, they generally will have a much
milder form of the disease, with fewer blisters (typically
fewer than 50), lower fever, and a more rapid
recovery.
The vaccine almost always prevents against severe
disease. Getting chickenpox vaccine is much safer
than getting chickenpox disease.

21) Isn’t it better for a child to get chickenpox naturally?
Some parents purposely seek to get their children
infected with varicella virus, even promoting “chickenpox
parties” for this purpose. The belief is that
it’s better to be infected when young, a time when
the infection is ordinarily less severe. Some parents also believe that something “natural” (the disease) is better than something “artificial” (the vaccine), or
that immunity derived from the disease will be more
permanent than that from the vaccine.
However, when a safe vaccine is available, parents
need to weigh the supposed benefits of infection
against its potential risks, including severe disease
with complications such as infection with flesh-eating
bacteria. No one can predict which child will develop
a life-threatening case of chickenpox; in fact, most
serious cases occur in previously healthy children.
In addition, in a recent study, 7 out of 10 children
said given the choice, they’d rather have the shot
than have the natural disease.

22) Can the vaccine protect you if you’ve already been
exposed to chickenpox?
Yes, it is 70-100% effective if given within 72 hours
of exposure.
Who should NOT receive the chickenpox vaccine?
Persons with weakened immune systems and those
with life-threatening allergies to gelatin or the antibiotic
neomycin should not receive this vaccine.
Persons who had a severe allergic reaction to a prior
dose of this vaccine should not receive a second dose.
Pregnant women and women attempting to become
pregnant should not receive this vaccine, as the possible
effects on fetal development are unknown.
However, non-pregnant women of childbearing age
who have never had the disease may be immunized
against chickenpox to avoid contracting the disease
while pregnant.

23) Can the vaccine cause chickenpox?
Because this vaccine is made from a live, but weakened,
virus, about 1% of recipients develop a mild
form of the disease, consisting of a limited rash, most
often with only 5-6 blisters. Usually there is no fever.
These persons are then safe from the more serious,
naturally occurring form of the virus.

24) Can the varicella vaccine virus be transmitted
(caught) from a person who was vaccinated?
Yes; however, transmission of the varicella vaccine
virus is extremely rare. It has only been documented
in healthy persons on three occasions out of the 21
million doses of vaccine distributed. All three cases
resulted in mild disease without complications.

25) Can the vaccine cause herpes zoster (shingles)?
Yes, this is possible. The risk of zoster following vaccination
appears to be less than that following infection
with the varicella virus. The majority of cases of
shingles following vaccine have been mild and have
not been associated with serious complications.