26186103

PMC4606850

Background

A routine 2-dose varicella vaccination program was adopted in 2007 in the United States to help further decrease varicella disease and prevent varicella outbreaks. We describe trends and characteristics of varicella outbreaks reported to CDC during 2005–2012 from 9 states.

Methods

Data on varicella outbreaks collected by 9 state health departments were submitted to CDC using the CDC outbreak reporting worksheet. Information was collected on dates of the outbreak, outbreak setting, and number of cases by outbreak; aggregate data was provided on the numbers of outbreak-related cases by age group, vaccination status, and laboratory confirmation.

Results

Nine hundred and twenty-nine outbreaks were reported from the 6 states which provided data for each year during 2005–2012. Based on data from these 6 states, the number of outbreaks declined by 78%, decreasing from 147 in 2005 to 33 outbreaks in 2012 (p=0.0001). There were a total of 1,015 varicella outbreaks involving 13,595 cases reported by the 9 states from 2005–2012. The size and duration of outbreaks declined significantly over time (p<0.001). The median size of outbreaks was 12, 9, and 7 cases and median duration of outbreaks was 38, 35, and 26 days during 2005–2006, 2007–2009, and 2010–2012 respectively. Majority of outbreaks (95%) were reported from schools, declining from 97% in 2005–2006 to 89% in 2010–2012. Sixty-five percent of outbreak-related cases occurred among 5–9 year olds, with the proportion declining from 76% in 2005–2006 to 45% during 2010–2012.

Conclusions

The routine 2-dose varicella vaccination program appears to have significantly reduced the number, size, and duration of varicella outbreaks in the U.S.

CDC Public Access

CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States