The chickenpox party is over as scientists demand the deployment of a British vaccine | Chickenpox

It’s time to end the chickenpox party in the UK. This is the uncompromising view of a group of scientists who believe that vaccination programs should be initiated to end social events in which infants are deliberately cross-infected with the varicella virus.

Usually a mild illness, chicken pox Occasionally causes serious side effects such as bacterial skin infections, pneumonia and encephalitis. As a result, hundreds of children are seriously affected and about 20 die each year in the UK.

The United States and several European countries have launched a national vaccination program to eradicate the disease. Meanwhile, the Joint Commission on Immunization and Immunization (JCVI) was ready to consider whether the UK should follow suit. debate. Professor Adam Finn, a pediatrician at the University of Bristol, who is now a member of the main committee, is calling for the resumption of these discussions. “We need to resume discussions on the country’s vaccine program as soon as possible, and we hope this will be resolved before the end of our JCVI term,” Finn said. Observer last week.

Other scientists have warned that such programs must be set up with great care and full public support, or risk causing other health problems.

Helen Bedford, a professor of child health at the University College London, said:

Chickenpox Varicella zoster It is a virus and is the only viral infection that can be prevented with a vaccine in childhood without a national vaccination program. In most cases, the symptoms are mild: spots, high temperatures, headaches. These usually disappear within a week.

However, chickenpox can have the more serious consequence of increasing the risk of pneumonia and encephalitis with age. For this reason, “chickenpox parties” are often held in the neighborhood, where infected children mix with uninfected children and ensure that uninfected children have a lower risk of complications when they are young. I will catch it.

However, many scientists now want to replace the chickenpox party with a vaccination program. This makes the risk of complications much lower. “In countries that have undergone universal chickenpox vaccination, such as Germany and the United States, chickenpox-related hospitalizations have declined significantly. In Germany, there was a 65% reduction in the first six years of implementation, and in the United States. There has been a 90% reduction since the introduction of chickenpox vaccination in 1996, “said a spokesman for MSD, one of the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture chickenpox vaccines.

Nevertheless, start National Varicella Vaccine Program Still, there are two important concerns. One focuses on the risk that inadequate vaccination may actually increase the number of people infected in later years, and the other is the association between chickenpox and shingles. I’m focusing.

“Most people with chickenpox are immune for life, but varicella-zoster never leaves you once infected,” Finn said. “When the symptoms of the disease subside and stay in the nerves of the spine and weaken the immune system later in life, they can be reactivated, causing a very painful illness called shingles or shingles. There is. “

People affected by herpes zoster may take months to heal the rash or swelling, but they may also suffer from very painful, long-term neuralgia caused by nerve damage.

Importantly, some scientists argue that the spread of chickenpox in the community actually helps to strengthen protection against chickenpox. “This theory is that if older people are continuously exposed to the virus by infected children in the community, this may help boost their immune system and fight the reactivated virus. “There is,” Finn added.

As a result, vaccination programs for children’s illnesses remove the virus from the population and cut off its immunity buildup, resulting in a surge in shingles levels in the elderly. “But studies in the United States and other countries where the vaccine program has been running for years did not show a significant increase in the predicted herpes zoster,” Finn added. “Therefore, this debate about refraining from vaccine programs in the UK is rapidly losing momentum.”

After launching a national vaccination program, Bedford said there was a second problem that could cause problems. “If you introduce a varicella vaccine to a young child and it is not well covered, it means that the virus is still hanging, and it becomes more common for people to get chickenpox as they get older.

“And that’s bad news, because if you’re an adult, chickenpox has a negative effect on you. Therefore, if you’re implementing a national vaccine program, implement a robust and highly effective program. You need to make sure that it is. Based on our successful existing childhood vaccination program, I am confident that it will be. “

As a result, Bedford endorsed the idea of ​​a national vaccine program and endorsed Finn by ending the chickenpox party as a means of combating illness. “At these parties, parents deliberately expose their children to chickenpox so that they get chickenpox when they are young,” Bedford added. “I understand the rationale, but it’s not without risk. No one knows if one of the children can get seriously ill, so it implements a vaccination program. That’s a very good reason. “