VZV Foundation - A Decade Of Leadership In The Fight Against VZV Infections

	Oral Presentation Abstracts: 12 [12] EPIDEMIOLOGY OF VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS INFECTION IN CANADA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM * M. Brisson (1,2,3), W.J. Edmunds (1,2), B. Law (4,5), N.J. Gay (1), R. Walld (5), M. Brownell (5), L Roos (5), G De Serres (3) (1) PHLS CDSC, Colindale, London NW9 5EQ; (2) City University, London EC1; (3) Public Health Research Unit, CHUL Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec; (4) Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg; (5) Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation and Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Many countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of VZV to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Over 70 years of surveillance and hospitalization data from Canada and the UK were analyzed. The key epidemiological characteristics of varicella and zoster (age specific consultation rates, seasonality, force of infection, hospitalization and inpatient days) were compared. Results show that the overall epidemiology of varicella and zoster is remarkably similar between the two countries. The major difference being that, contrary to Canada, the epidemiology of varicella seems to be changing in the UK with an important decrease in the average age at infection that coincides with a significant increase in children attending preschool. Furthermore, differences exist in the seasonality between the UK and Canada, which seem to be primarily due to the school calendar. These results illustrate that school and preschool contact patterns play a pivotal role in the dynamics of varicella and should be carefully taken into account when assessing the impact of vaccination. Finally, our results provide baseline estimates of varicella and zoster incidence and morbidity for VZV vaccine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies. Corresponding Author: M. Brisson, PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom

[12]

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF VARICELLA ZOSTER VIRUS INFECTION IN CANADA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

* M. Brisson (1,2,3), W.J. Edmunds (1,2), B. Law (4,5), N.J. Gay (1), R. Walld (5),
M. Brownell (5), L Roos (5), G De Serres (3)

(1) PHLS CDSC, Colindale, London NW9 5EQ; (2) City University, London EC1;
(3) Public Health Research Unit, CHUL Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec; (4) Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg; (5) Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation and Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.

Many countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of VZV to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Over 70 years of surveillance and hospitalization data from Canada and the UK were analyzed. The key epidemiological characteristics of varicella and zoster (age specific consultation rates, seasonality, force of infection, hospitalization and inpatient days) were compared. Results show that the overall epidemiology of varicella and zoster is remarkably similar between the two countries. The major difference being that, contrary to Canada, the epidemiology of varicella seems to be changing in the UK with an important decrease in the average age at infection that coincides with a significant increase in children attending preschool. Furthermore, differences exist in the seasonality between the UK and Canada, which seem to be primarily due to the school calendar. These results illustrate that school and preschool contact patterns play a pivotal role in the dynamics of varicella and should be carefully taken into account when assessing the impact of vaccination. Finally, our results provide baseline estimates of varicella and zoster incidence and morbidity for VZV vaccine effectiveness and cost-effectiveness studies.

Corresponding Author: M. Brisson, PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, United Kingdom