Australia’s active hospital-based surveillance for severe childhood disease
A national, sentinel prospective study, led by Dr Helen Marshall, was conducted to identify children with severe hospitalised varicella, despite availability of universal 1-dose vaccination since 2005. This study also aimed to determine associations between virus genotypes and disease severity.
The study found that severe hospitalised varicella still occurs with a 1-dose varicella program, although predominantly in unvaccinated children. Most 1-dose vaccine recipients were protected against severe disease.
This study highlights the importance of varicella surveillance, including viral genotyping in complex hospitalised cases, to assist in monitoring disease due to Oka-vaccine strain.
Read the full study here.
