TY - JOUR
T1 - Immunity to varicella zoster virus among young adults
T2 - A decline prior to widespread uptake of varicella vaccines
AU - Grotto, I.
AU - Balicer, R. D.
AU - Smetana, Z.
AU - Davidovitch, N.
AU - Bar-Zeev, Y.
AU - Mendelson, E.
AU - Zarka, S.
AU - Huerta, M.
PY - 2008/4
Y1 - 2008/4
N2 - Background: The epidemiology of chickenpox in Israel is changing, mainly due to the increasing - but not universal - uptake of varicella vaccine. Patients and Methods: We conducted a seroprevalence study of varicella zoster virus (VZV) antibodies among 536 Israeli military recruits 18 years of age, on the basis of a representative sample of sera collected in 2003. Results: The overall seroprevalence rate was 94.6%, which was significantly lower than that observed in a similar population in 1992 (98.4%, p < 0.001). The rate was lower among subjects whose fathers had less than 12 years of schooling (89.8%, p = 0.033). No statistically significant differences were observed when data were stratified by sex, subject's level of education, or origin. Conclusion: This decline in the level of immunity must be considered when determining pre- and post-exposure vaccination policy among young adults in crowded environments.
AB - Background: The epidemiology of chickenpox in Israel is changing, mainly due to the increasing - but not universal - uptake of varicella vaccine. Patients and Methods: We conducted a seroprevalence study of varicella zoster virus (VZV) antibodies among 536 Israeli military recruits 18 years of age, on the basis of a representative sample of sera collected in 2003. Results: The overall seroprevalence rate was 94.6%, which was significantly lower than that observed in a similar population in 1992 (98.4%, p < 0.001). The rate was lower among subjects whose fathers had less than 12 years of schooling (89.8%, p = 0.033). No statistically significant differences were observed when data were stratified by sex, subject's level of education, or origin. Conclusion: This decline in the level of immunity must be considered when determining pre- and post-exposure vaccination policy among young adults in crowded environments.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=42249112669&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s15010-007-7192-7
DO - 10.1007/s15010-007-7192-7
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C2 - 18379727
AN - SCOPUS:42249112669
SN - 0300-8126
VL - 36
SP - 130
EP - 134
JO - Infection
JF - Infection
IS - 2
ER -