THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503180226
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARIE JOYCE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
Chickenpox, an itchy, feverish rite of passage for most American children, may be heading the way of polio, measles and whooping cough. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced approval of the first vaccine to prevent the disease.
Varivax, manufactured by Merck & Co. of Pennsylvania, could be available in doctors' offices in eight weeks, officials say.
The vaccine prevents the disease 70 percent to 90 percent of the time, the Associated Press reported, and those who do get the disease after being vaccinated will have much milder cases.
The vaccine apparently has no dangerous side effects, said Sandra J. Holmes, an assistant professor at Norfolk's Center for Pediatric Research, run by Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and Eastern Virginia Medical School.
A few people may experience soreness from the Varivax injection, a slight rash or a very mild fever.
Until recently, Holmes worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where she helped write the agency's recommendations for use of Varivax.
A single dose of the injectable vaccine will cost more than $40, a Merck Co. spokesman said.
Teenagers and adults will require two doses.
Insurance companies vary widely in their willingness to pay for immunization, doctors say.
Chickenpox is a common viral infection, afflicting about 4 million Americans a year, mostly children.
In most cases, it causes a mild fever, headaches and the telltale rash.
Sometimes, it makes victims susceptible to a bacterial infection, which is treated with antibiotics, said Dr. Harvey Kagan, a South Hampton Roads pediatrician who has been awaiting approval of Varivax.
But even though the disease is mild, the vaccine is still an important addition to a pediatrician's arsenal, doctors said.
In rare cases, chickenpox can cause serious, sometimes fatal, complications.
Almost 5 percent of American adults haven't had the disease, and the illness tends to be more severe for them than for children.
``Any time you can decrease (illness) for 4 million children, you're making quite an advance,'' said Dr. Larry K. Pickering, director of the Center for Pediatric Research.
Kagan said, ``The parents have to take time off from work, and the children are missing school. . . . (Chickenpox) does have a significant economic effect on families.''
The disease, caused by the varicella virus, is extremely contagious.
It's carried by respiratory droplets - the products of sneezing, coughing and such - and a carrier is probably contagious in the few days before he realizes he's sick, Kagan said.
If a child brings it home, there's an 80 percent chance that his or her siblings will catch it, if they haven't had it earlier.
Once a person has the disease, he or she is immune for life, Kagan said.
Pickering said the vaccine can be given to most people 1 year old or older.
Varivax apparently isn't effective against shingles, a painful condition also caused by varicella, Pickering said.
In some cases, the virus goes dormant after its initial infection and lurks in the neurons of the spinal cord, re-emerging as shingles years later.
Use of the vaccine may cause shingles in a very small percentage of cases - far fewer than the number who will get shingles because they had chickenpox, Pickering said.
Varivax probably won't wipe out chickenpox, Pickering said, but as more people are immunized, the virus will become less common - and that will benefit even those who don't get the shot.
``Hopefully we won't see much of it in the coming years,'' he said.
But Varivax will come a little late for Roslyn and Raymond Parker II of Virginia Beach.
Roslyn, 5, is in the throes of chickenpox, which she caught from her brother, 7, who had it last week.
Their mom, Helen, has been monitoring fevers, rubbing calamine lotion on bumps and comforting her son and daughter when they can't play outside.
But no mother likes to worry about the possibility of complications, and Helen had to tutor her son at home so he wouldn't fall behind in school.
``If there's something I can use to keep them healthy and avoid unnecessary illness, then certainly I would use that,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: THE DOSAGE
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention haven't released their recommendations for
use of Varivax, the new vaccine for chicken pox. But they are
expected to recommend:
One dose of vaccine for all children age 12-18 months who haven't
had chicken pox. That would be most children in this age group.
One dose for children between 18 months and 13 years who haven't
had chicken pox.
Two doses, administered a month or two apart, for teenagers and
adults who haven't had the disease. It's especially important
because chicken pox tends to be more dangerous for adults than for
children.
The vaccine is particularly recommended for adults who haven't
had the disease and who live or work with people who are highly
susceptible. This includes health care workers and family members of
people who have AIDS or another condition, like cancer, that
compromises the immune system.
Those who aren't sure whether they've had the disease probably
should have the immunization anyway, since it won't cause bad side
effects even if they actually have had chicken pox.
Source: Center for Pediatric Research
by CNB