SHORT REPORT

Changes in age related seroprevalence of antibody to varicella zoster virus: impact on vaccine strategy

G Kudesia¹, S Partridge², C P Farrington² and N Soltanpoor²

¹ Public Health Laboratory, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK
² Public Health Laboratory Service Statistics Unit, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr G Kudesia, Public Health Laboratory, Northern General Hospital, Herries Road, Sheffield S5 7AU, UK

Aim: To study changes in the seroprevalence of varicella zoster virus (VZV) antibody over the past 25 years with a view to determining the target age group for any future vaccination strategy.

Methods: Stored sera collected from different age groups over a period of 25 years were tested by a commercial VZV IgG enzyme immunoassay at a four year time interval. Data were analysed by logistic regression to investigate the evidence for changes in incidence and hence seroprevalence over that period.

Results: There was a significant rise in VZV antibody prevalence in the 1–4 year age group during the study period.

Conclusions: A universal childhood VZV vaccination strategy will need to take account of the increase in incidence of VZV infection in children under the age of 4 years; hence, the suggested target age would be between 12 and 18 months—soon after the disappearance of maternal antibody.

Keywords: varicella zoster virus; vaccination; target age group

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio; VZV, varicella zoster virus

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