Links Between Herpes Zoster Incidence and Childhood Varicella Vaccination
Authors: Benson Ogunjimi, Philippe Beutels
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2014)

Letters15 April 2014Links Between Herpes Zoster Incidence and Childhood Varicella VaccinationBenson Ogunjimi, MD, MPhys and Philippe Beutels, MSc, PhDBenson Ogunjimi, MD, MPhysFrom Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.Search for more papers by this author and Philippe Beutels, MSc, PhDFrom Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L14-5008-5 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITORHales and colleagues (1) found a 39% increase in herpes zoster (HZ) incidence in the United States between 1992 and 2010. They concluded that the annual increase in HZ incidence could not have been caused by the implementation of varicella vaccination but was already present before this vaccination was introduced in 1996. Although the study was well-performed, the validity of their final conclusion would benefit from further exploration of their interesting data set.First, the lack of a difference in HZ incidence before and after introduction of varicella vaccination could be caused by a transitional phase during ...References1. Hales CM, Harpaz R, Joesoef MR, Bialek SR. Examination of links between herpes zoster incidence and childhood varicella vaccination. Ann Intern Med. 2013;159:739-45. [PMID: 24297190] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Ogunjimi B, Van Damme P, Beutels P. Herpes zoster risk reduction through exposure to chickenpox patients: a systematic multidisciplinary review. PLoS One. 2013;8:66485. [PMID: 23805224] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Levin MJ, Oxman MN, Zhang JH, Johnson GR, Stanley H, Hayward AR, et al; Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies Program Shingles Prevention Study Investigators. Varicella-zoster virus-specific immune responses in elderly recipients of a herpes zoster vaccine. J Infect Dis. 2008;197:825-35. [PMID: 18419349] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Karhunen M, Leino T, Salo H, Davidkin I, Kilpi T, Auranen K. Modelling the impact of varicella vaccination on varicella and zoster. Epidemiol Infect. 2010;138:469-81. [PMID: 19796447] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Bilcke J, van Hoek AJ, Beutels P. Childhood varicella-zoster virus vaccination in Belgium: cost-effective only in the long run or without exogenous boosting? Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2013;9:812-22. [PMID: 23321955] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Benson Ogunjimi, MD, MPhys; Philippe Beutels, MSc, PhDAffiliations: From Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L14-0017. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoExamination of Links Between Herpes Zoster Incidence and Childhood Varicella Vaccination Craig M. Hales , Rafael Harpaz , M. Riduan Joesoef , and Stephanie R. Bialek Health Policy Basics: Health Insurance Marketplaces Ryan A. Crowley and Thomas G. Tape Links Between Herpes Zoster Incidence and Childhood Varicella Vaccination Craig M. Hales , Rafael Harpaz , and Stephanie R. Bialek Links Between Herpes Zoster Incidence and Childhood Varicella Vaccination Craig M. Hales , Rafael Harpaz , and Stephanie R. Bialek Metrics Cited byActualización en herpes zóster infantil. A propósito de 4 casos 15 April 2014Volume 160, Issue 8Page: 582KeywordsAge groupsChildrenDisclosureFactor analysisImmunohistochemistryInternational classification of diseases ninth revision clinical modificationPediatric infectionsVaccines ePublished: 15 April 2014 Issue Published: 15 April 2014 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2014 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...