Chicken Pox Almost Rare Ten Years After Second Dose Recommendation, Findings Show

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has good news for parents and children. Since the second dose of vaccine was recommended in 2006, the results have continued to improve. At present, chickenpox has dropped by 85 percent.

According to Inquisitr, it was 1996 when the first vaccine was released. Scientists, however, found that a one shot could only sideline the virus and not kill it; hence the development of the two-dose chickenpox vaccine. Since then, there has been an immense decline of chickenpox particularly among children between ages five and 14.

While vaccine may fail to prevent chickenpox in everyone, its vaccinated patients show milder symptoms than unvaccinated ones. The most vulnerable groups are adults with weak immune system and babies. Among the symptoms of chickenpox are blistery rash, fever, and tiredness.

Pulse Headlines reported that scientists can now conduct further research that aims to understand new outbreaks' characteristics including the number of hospitalized patients, how severe the symptoms are, and whether the patients are vaccinated or not. The goal is to find out what causes severe symptoms.

Chickenpox, a disease caused by varicella-zoster virus is highly infectious. The infection normally occurs at least 10 days and at most 21 days before symptoms show. It can be transferred by merely coughing or sneezing in front of someone else. Moreover, coming into contact with the blisters can spread the virus.

It is important to take note that not everyone can have the two-dose vaccine. People with certain conditions should avoid it; for instance, life-threatening allergic reactions, pregnancy, and severe illnesses. Adult women are likewise advised to avoid pregnancy one month after receiving the vaccine.

Meanwhile, a person can have natural immunity to chickenpox. Those who wish to find out if they are immune to the disease may undergo a test for antibodies.