Wharton M
Child Vaccine Preventable Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Infect Dis Clin North Am. 1996 Sep;10(3):571-81. doi: 10.1016/s0891-5520(05)70313-5.
Historically, varicella has been a disease predominantly affecting preschool and school-aged children in the United States. The live attenuated varicella vaccine was licensed in this country in 1995 and has been recommended for routine use in immunization of children 12 to 18 months of age. As an increasing proportion of the children in the United States are protected from varicella by vaccination, changes in the current epidemiology of the disease are anticipated. This article reviews the current epidemiology of VZV infection and outlines issues related to possible changes in varicella epidemiology that may follow widespread use of the live varicella (Oka) vaccine.
从历史上看，水痘在美国一直是一种主要影响学龄前和学龄儿童的疾病。减毒活水痘疫苗于1995年在美国获得许可，并被推荐用于12至18个月龄儿童的常规免疫接种。随着美国越来越多的儿童通过接种疫苗预防水痘，预计该疾病当前的流行病学情况将会发生变化。本文回顾了水痘带状疱疹病毒（VZV）感染的当前流行病学情况，并概述了与水痘流行病学可能发生的变化相关的问题，这些变化可能是由于广泛使用减毒活水痘（Oka）疫苗所致。
