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Congenital and neonatal varicella in Australia
1National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS), Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia. jillf@nch.edu.au
Objective:
To establish the incidence and severity of congenital and neonatal varicella in Australia.
Methodology:
Demographic and clinical details were obtained by postal questionnaire regarding cases notified to the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit by over 930 participating clinicians in 1995-97 inclusive.
Results:
Seven cases of congenital varicella (1: 107 000 pregnancies/year) followed maternal infection at 8-26 weeks: five had defects, two did not. Four of the seven infants with congenital varicella developed herpes zoster in the first 15 months of life. Forty-four infants had neonatal varicella (1: 17 000 pregnancies/year).
Conclusion:
: There is an ongoing, albeit low, incidence of congenital and neonatal varicella in Australia.