Today's Date: March 28, 2024
Terragia Secures $6M to Develop Cost-Competitive, Low-Carbon Biofuel Technology   •   JAMS Diversity Fellowship Accepting Applications   •   Argonne-Supported Critical Materials Assessment Tags Potential Supply Chain Bottlenecks   •   New Report Shows Massachusetts Customers Could Have Saved Hundreds of Millions in 2024 Through Competitive Energy Supply   •   MDA SPACE INCLUDED IN THE GLOBE & MAIL'S ANNUAL WOMEN LEAD HERE RANKING   •   35 National Partners Representing Over 3 Million Women Join Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation's Growing Coalition   •   Sila Moses Lake Manager Rosendo Alvarado to Speak at Big Bend Community College Building the Future Energy Workforce Event   •   First Book and Ashoka Announce 15 Youth Challenge Winners in Time for Change Nationwide Initiative   •   Scotiabank ranks on The Globe and Mail's annual Women Lead Here benchmark of executive gender diversity for the fourth consecuti   •   Impacts of Extreme Weather on Interior Design Examined in New Research   •   80 M/other Artists Converge for MICAfest 2024 in Northampton, MA this May   •   RICE Announces Strategic Leadership Additions, Cementing Its Role as the Nation's Largest Entrepreneurial Hub   •   Paralyzed Veterans of America to honor former Senator Elizabeth Dole with 2024 Gordon H. Mansfield Congressional Leadership Awar   •   Key Piece of “Titanic” Movie Memorabilia Purchased By Titanic Museum Attraction   •   Impact Communications Signs Best-Selling Book Author and Financial Advisor Coach Derrick Kinney   •   Dawson-Forté Cashmere Shareholders Sell Majority Equity Stake to Tempus Partners   •   Chevron Announces Opening of Fab Labs at HBCUs   •   Consolidated Credit Launches Free Webinar Series to Empower Individuals During Challenging Economic Climate   •   Gale Primary Sources Release Four New Archives Devoted to Contributions from Underrecognized Communities   •   Bill Introduced in Minnesota Would Increase Access To Genetic Testing
Bookmark and Share

Black Children At Lower Risk Of Shingles After Chickenpox Vaccine

 

 

 

 

Black children are less likely than white or Asian children to develop shingles (herpes zoster) after receiving the varicella vaccine to prevent chickenpox, reports a study in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

The results are consistent with previous studies showing lower rates of herpes zoster in black versus white adults. "It is possible that genetic variation may explain some portion of varicella-zoster virus reactivation," according to the new study, led by Dr. Hung Fu Tseng of Kaiser Permanente, Pasadena, Calif.

White and Asian Children at Higher Risk of Herpes Zoster
Using records from a large Kaiser Permanente health plan, Dr. Tseng and colleagues identified 122 children, aged 12 years or younger, who developed herpes zoster after receiving chickenpox (varicella) vaccine. Sometimes called shingles, herpes zoster is a painful, blistering rash that occurs when the varicella zoster virus (VZV), which causes chickenpox, becomes reactivated in the body.

Herpes zoster is much more common in adults than children, particularly children who have received the varicella vaccine. However, like natural VZV, the virus used in the varicella vaccine can become reactivated, causing shingles to occur later.

The 122 children with herpes zoster were matched for race, age, and sex to a group of vaccinated children who did not develop herpes zoster. Possible risk factors were analyzed.

The results suggested that black children were at significantly lower risk of developing herpes zoster. With adjustment for other factors, including time since varicella vaccination, herpes zoster risk was 60 percent lower in black children compared to white children and 70 percent lower compared to Asian children.

None of the children with herpes zoster had serious illness requiring hospitalization. Another recent study in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (December, 2009) found that children receiving varicella vaccine are much less likely to develop herpes zoster than those with natural chickenpox and that, when the condition does occur, it is less severe.

The lower risk in black children is consistent with previous studies showing that rates of herpes zoster are lower in black than white adults. Those studies suggested several possible explanations for the lower risk of shingles in black adults, such as more infections or increased exposure to people with chickenpox.

However, none of these would account for a reduced risk of shingles in black children. Racial differences in access to health care are also unlikely in this case, since all of the children in the study were enrolled in an insurance plan providing equal access to care.

Having eliminated these possibilities, Dr. Tseng and co-authors believe that a genetic explanation is most likely. "The lower risk of herpes zoster found in both black children and adults suggests the potential of an underlying genetic factor that modifies the risk of VZV reactivation," they write. Further studies to understand the reasons for this racial difference could also lend important clues as to how VZV becomes reactivated to cause herpes zoster.

###

About The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal® www.pidj.com is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal directed to physicians and other health care professionals who manage infectious diseases of childhood. The journal delivers the latest insights on all aspects of infectious disease in children, from state-of-art diagnostic techniques to the most effective drug therapies and other essential treatment protocols. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal is official journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

About Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is a leading international publisher for healthcare professionals and students with nearly 300 periodicals and 1,500 books in more than 100 disciplines publishing under the LWW brand, as well as content-based sites and online corporate and customer services.

LWW is a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health and pharmacy. Major brands include traditional publishers of medical and drug reference tools and textbooks, such as Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and Facts & Comparisons®; and electronic information providers, such asOvid®, UpToDate®, Medi-Span®, and ProVation® Medical. 
Wolters Kluwer Health, is a part of Wolters Kluwer, a leading global information services and publishing company. The company provides products and services for professionals in the health, tax, accounting, corporate, financial services, legal, and regulatory sectors. Wolters Kluwer had 2009 annual revenues of €3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), employs approximately 18,2000 people worldwide, and maintains operations in over 40 countries across Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. Wolters Kluwer is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. Its shares are quoted on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX and Euronext 100 indices. Visitwww.wolterskluwer.com for information about our market positions, customers, brands, and organization.


Source: Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins



Back to top
| Back to home page
Video

White House Live Stream
LIVE VIDEO EVERY SATURDAY
alsharpton Rev. Al Sharpton
9 to 11 am EST
jjackson Rev. Jesse Jackson
10 to noon CST


Video

LIVE BROADCASTS
Sounds Make the News ®
WAOK-Urban
Atlanta - WAOK-Urban
KPFA-Progressive
Berkley / San Francisco - KPFA-Progressive
WVON-Urban
Chicago - WVON-Urban
KJLH - Urban
Los Angeles - KJLH - Urban
WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
New York - WKDM-Mandarin Chinese
WADO-Spanish
New York - WADO-Spanish
WBAI - Progressive
New York - WBAI - Progressive
WOL-Urban
Washington - WOL-Urban

Listen to United Natiosns News