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Understanding the health risks of varicella zoster virus in pregnancy

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posted on 2023-08-30, 16:11 authored by Gwenda Jones, Nina Whittle
Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a common illness that causes varicella (chickenpox) and shingles. It is prevalent mostly during childhood but there are additional co-morbidities from this disease for a woman and her fetus, if she contracts it during pregnancy. Many developed countries vaccinate children who have not acquired immunity to prevent their developing complicated varicella as adults. Countries that have implemented widespread vaccination have fewer hospital admissions for such complications. The UK does not have a national VZV vaccination programme and there is no strategy for reporting and documenting the incidence of the illness, so it is difficult to determine the potential prevalence of gestational VZV and its associated outcomes. The aim of this article is to provide an understanding of the aetiology of VZV and the potential health risks to unimmune women who may contact it during pregnancy, to advise them about their healthcare choices.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

29

Issue number

2

Page range

45-50

Publication title

Primary Health Care

ISSN

2047-900X

Publisher

RCN Publishing

File version

  • Accepted version

Language

  • eng

Legacy posted date

2019-04-08

Legacy creation date

2019-04-04

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine & Social Care

Note

This is the accepted manuscript. The version of record can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/phc.2019.e1522.

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