Dr Phil Kieran: Vaccinating your child against chickenpox 

Because almost all of us have had chickenpox in our childhood, we tend to think of it as a benign, non-important condition. Thankfully, for most it is, but chickenpox can be severe for some people.

The varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox, part of the herpes family. It is spread via aerosol, making it one of the most contagious infections we know of, with a rate of spread of over 90%.

It typically happens 10-21 days after exposure and will cause a runny nose, cough and symptoms similar to a cold for a day or two before the rash appears. The person with chickenpox becomes contagious when the runny nose starts and remains contagious until the last lesion has formed a crust.

After recovering from chickenpox, most people will have life-long immunity. This also applies to children under one year. Once your child has had chickenpox, there is no need to be vaccinated against it.

I always tell my patients about the existence of the chickenpox vaccine as many are unaware that it exists.

This vaccine is already included in the schedule for many countries worldwide, including Germany, the US, Canada, and Australia.

It’s known as a “live-attenuated vaccine”, which means it uses a strain of varicella, which is too weak to cause infection but similar enough to the normal strain of varicella to allow your immune system to recognise it.

This vaccine gives up to 98% immunity in children and teenagers and has been shown to have 75% protection in adults.

You may ask why we shouldn’t let our kids catch chickenpox. Some of you may even remember chickenpox parties so children could get over it at the same time.

Although chickenpox is often mild and self-limiting, it can cause serious injury. The mildest of these is permanent scarring, but more serious problems can happen.

In a small number of children (1.8 in 100,000), chickenpox will cause meningitis or inflammation of the brain and can result in stroke, disability, or even death. This is rare, but I believe vaccination is advisable for a potentially preventable disease.

Even if chickenpox didn’t have this complication, it can be very uncomfortable and distressing, which is reason enough to vaccinate.

I would like to see Ireland introduce the varicella vaccine as part of the childhood immunisation schedule, as its cost — about €200 for the two shots — is prohibitive for many families.

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