Incidence and case-fatality of varicella-zoster virus infection among pediatric cancer patients in developing countries.
Rohit P OjhaSericea Stallings-SmithMartha J Aviles-RoblesSergio GomezMaría Mercedes SomarribaMiguela A CanizaPublished in: European journal of pediatrics (2015)
• Current recommendations, based on evidence from pediatric cancer patients in developed countries, contraindicate varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccination until completion of cancer-directed therapy and recovery of immune function. • The generalizability of these VZV vaccine recommendations to pediatric cancer patients in developing countries is unknown because of limited information about the incidence and case-fatality of VZV in these settings. What is New: • Our results suggest low incidence and case-fatality of VZV infections among pediatric cancer patients in three developing countries. • VZV vaccine recommendations based on evidence from pediatric cancer patients in developed countries may be generalizable to pediatric cancer patients in developing countries.