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Unprotected People Reports: Chickenpox |
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Michigan Child's Death Caused by Chickenpox |
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| Click here for a fully-formatted PDF version
of this report |
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| The following story appeared in the "Michigan Immunization Update" (Summer/Fall 1999 issue). It is reprinted here with
permission from the Michigan Department of Community Health. |
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Though fatal outcomes are rare, chickenpox (varicella) can result in death. The Michigan health care community was
reminded of that sobering fact this spring with the report of an eight-year-old boy's varicella-related death. The
child, who had not been vaccinated against chickenpox, died from complications of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS)
infection approximately one week after the onset of varicella rash.
Varicella has increasingly become recognized as a risk factor for GAS disease. An investigation of an outbreak of
GAS in a Boston day care center in 1997 found antecedent or concurrent varicella infection to be a significant risk
factor for GAS infection. Investigations of several other varicella-related deaths have similarly noted severe,
invasive group A strep infection as a possible complication of chickenpox.
This is the fourth reported varicella-related death in Michigan since 1997. Two deaths were reported in that year,
a two-year-old child and a 42-year-old adult. An eight-year-old child died in 1998. None had previously received
chickenpox vaccine, which was licensed for use in the U.S. in 1995. Nationally, it is estimated that approximately 100
varicella-related deaths occur each year.
As part of a comprehensive effort to assess the impact of vaccination on
varicella-related morbidity and mortality, CDC now encourages state public
health agencies to investigate varicella-related deaths.... Health care
providers should report varicella-related deaths immediately to the local health
department of the patient's residence....
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| 5/25/00 • REPORT #31 |
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| Disclaimer: The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) publishes
Unprotected People Reports for the purpose of making them available
for our readers' review. We have not verified the content of this
report. |
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