Abstract
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause varicella or ‘chickenpox’, a typically mild disease characterised by an itchy vesicular rash with malaise and fever. Immunocompromised people, neonates, and pregnant women are at an increased risk of complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, haemorrhagic conditions, and bacterial infections. After a primary infection of chickenpox, the virus may remain latent in the spinal column and later in life re-activate as herpes zoster or ‘shingles’, which causes a painful vesicular rash.
In late 2023 a household cluster of VZV infection was detected in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. An initial case of shingles in an adult led to breakthrough cases of chickenpox in 3 young people who had each received 1 dose of a varicella-containing vaccine. The disease burden impacted negatively on this household’s activities of daily living.
One dose of a varicella-containing vaccine is funded through the Australian National Immunisation Program (NIP). A 2nd dose is recommended, although not funded. This household cluster highlights the importance of recommending the 2nd, unfunded, dose of varicella-containing vaccine to parents and guardians to reduce the risk of breakthrough chickenpox.