1
|
Ibrahim EG, Abdel Wahed WY, Eid HM, Deeb WS. Seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus among pregnant women in Fayoum Governorate, Egypt. J Egypt Public Health Assoc 2019; 94:2. [PMID: 30686830 PMCID: PMC6325979 DOI: 10.1186/s42506-018-0002-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Background Chickenpox infection acquired during pregnancy is a serious condition. There may be congenital malformations and neonatal varicella syndrome with significant morbidity and mortality. Egypt has no routine varicella-zoster vaccination program. Objective To assess the immune status against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antibodies among a group of pregnant women and to study the relationship between VZV seroprevalence and some sociodemographic characteristics. Subjects and methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of pregnant women (n = 333) attending antenatal care (ANC) clinic at Fayoum University Hospital. Serologic testing for VZV was performed using ELISA through the years 2016-2017. Results VZV seroprevalence was detected in 294 (88.3%) of the 333 recruited pregnant women. Older age > 25 years old was significantly associated with low percent of VZV-negative antibodies (6.7% in versus 17.4% in younger age, OR (95%CI) 0.34 (0.17-0.70)), also having more than one child was significantly associated with a low percent of VZV-negative antibodies (8.2% versus 16.1% among participants with no children or having one child, OR 0.34 (0.17-0.70)). Conclusions Despite the absence of a routine VZV vaccination program in Egypt, VZV immunity was high among pregnant women, but less than that reported in many developed countries. We recommend targeted vaccination for women in the reproductive age especially young and primipara. Trial registration Ethical Committee Registration number R67 session 42: date 12/11/2017(retrospectively registered).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Enas G Ibrahim
- 1Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Faiyum, Egypt
| | - Wafaa Y Abdel Wahed
- 2Public Health & Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Faiyum, 63514 Egypt
| | - Hanaa M Eid
- 1Microbiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Faiyum, Egypt
| | - Wessam S Deeb
- 3Obstetric and Gynecological Department, Faculty of Medicine, Fayoum University, Faiyum, Egypt
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Chen LK, Arai H, Chen LY, Chou MY, Djauzi S, Dong B, Kojima T, Kwon KT, Leong HN, Leung EMF, Liang CK, Liu X, Mathai D, Pan JY, Peng LN, Poblete ERS, Poi PJH, Reid S, Tantawichien T, Won CW. Looking back to move forward: a twenty-year audit of herpes zoster in Asia-Pacific. BMC Infect Dis 2017; 17:213. [PMID: 28298208 PMCID: PMC5353949 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-017-2198-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Herpes zoster (HZ) is a prevalent viral disease that inflicts substantial morbidity and associated healthcare and socioeconomic burdens. Current treatments are not fully effective, especially among the most vulnerable patients. Although widely recommended, vaccination against HZ is not routine; barriers in Asia-Pacific include long-standing neglect of adult immunisation and sparse local data. To address knowledge gaps, raise awareness, and disseminate best practice, we reviewed recent data and guidelines on HZ from the Asia-Pacific region. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus, and World Health Organization databases for articles about HZ published from 1994 to 2014 by authors from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. We selected articles about epidemiology, burden, complications, comorbidities, management, prevention, and recommendations/guidelines. Internet searches retrieved additional HZ immunisation guidelines. Results From 4007 retrieved articles, we screened-out 1501 duplicates and excluded 1264 extraneous articles, leaving 1242 unique articles. We found guidelines on adult immunisation from Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, and Thailand. HZ epidemiology in Asia-Pacific is similar to elsewhere; incidence rises with age and peaks at around 70 years – lifetime risk is approximately one-third. Average incidence of 3–10/1000 person-years is rising at around 5% per year. The principal risk factors are immunosenescence and immunosuppression. HZ almost always causes pain, and post-herpetic neuralgia is its most common complication. Half or more of hospitalised HZ patients have post-herpetic neuralgia, secondary infections, or inflammatory sequelae that are occasionally fatal. These disease burdens severely diminish patients’ quality of life and incur heavy healthcare utilisation. Conclusions Several countries have abundant data on HZ, but others, especially in South-East Asia, very few. However, Asia-Pacific countries generally lack data on HZ vaccine safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness. Physicians treating HZ and its complications in Asia-Pacific face familiar challenges but, with a vast aged population, Asia bears a unique and growing burden of disease. Given the strong rationale for prevention, most adult immunisation guidelines include HZ vaccine, yet it remains underused. We urge all stakeholders to give higher priority to adult immunisation in general and HZ in particular. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-017-2198-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liang-Kung Chen
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Rd., Taipei, 11217, Taiwan. .,Aging and Health Research Center, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Hidenori Arai
- National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-340 Morioka-cho, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan
| | - Liang-Yu Chen
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Rd., Taipei, 11217, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Yueh Chou
- Aging and Health Research Center, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, No. 386 Ta-Chun 1st Rd., Kaohsiung, 81362, Taiwan
| | - Samsuridjal Djauzi
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia, Salemba Raya No. 6, Jakarta, 10430, Indonesia
| | - Birong Dong
- The Center of Gerontology and Geriatrics, West China Medical School/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, No. 37 Guo Xue Xiang, Renmin Nan Lu, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
| | - Taro Kojima
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Jongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Ki Tae Kwon
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Daegu Fatima Hospital, 99 Ayang-ro, Dong-gu, Daegu, 710-600, Korea
| | - Hoe Nam Leong
- Rophi Clinic, 38 Irrawaddy Rd. #07-54/55, Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, Singapore, 329563, Singapore
| | - Edward M F Leung
- Geriatric Medicine Centre (Healthy Ageing), Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, 2 Village Rd. Happy Valley, Hong Kong S.A.R., China
| | - Chih-Kuang Liang
- Aging and Health Research Center, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, No. 386 Ta-Chun 1st Rd., Kaohsiung, 81362, Taiwan.,Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Xiaohong Liu
- Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Dilip Mathai
- Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Apollo Health City Campus, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, 500096, India
| | - Jiun Yit Pan
- National Skin Centre, 1 Mandalay Rd., Singapore, 308205, Singapore
| | - Li-Ning Peng
- Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, No. 201, Sec. 2, Shih-Pai Rd., Taipei, 11217, Taiwan.,Aging and Health Research Center, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Eduardo Rommel S Poblete
- Geriatric Center, St. Luke's Medical Center, 279 E. Rodriguez Sr. Ave., Quezon City, 1102, Philippines
| | - Philip J H Poi
- Division of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Centre, Lembah Pantai, 59100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Stewart Reid
- Ropata Medical Centre, Lower Hutt, 5010, New Zealand
| | - Terapong Tantawichien
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Chang Won Won
- Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoigi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-720, Korea
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Gorny AW, Mittal C, Saw S, Venkatachalam I, Fisher DA, Tambyah PA. Varicella seroprevalence in healthcare workers in a tertiary hospital: an audit of cross-sectional data. BMC Res Notes 2015; 8:664. [PMID: 26555677 PMCID: PMC4641420 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-015-1656-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The seroprevalence of varicella in Southeast Asia is not well described especially in healthcare workers (HCW) in the region. We report the varicella seroprevalence among healthcare workers from a diverse range of countries working in a tertiary care hospital in Singapore. Methods We audited the results of annual HCW health screening, which included a varicella assay, from the years 2009 to 2014. During this period, there was a change in hospital policy mandating varicella immunity for all newly employed healthcare workers. The serological data were reviewed with employment records on occupation and nationality. Seroprevalence rates were determined by standard commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assays for each year of testing. Odds of being immune in 2014 were compared by means of multiple logistic regression. Results A total of 10,585 samples were obtained from 6668 unique individuals over four separate cross-sections of the hospital workforce. A peak seroprevalence of 92.8 % (95 % CI 92.0–93.5) was recorded in 2014. Younger employees had a lower seroprevalence than their older colleagues. In a consolidated sample of 4875 members of the active workforce in October 2014, we identified that Indian nationals were less likely to be immune than their Singaporean national colleagues, odds ratio (OR) 0.26 (95 % CI 0.17–0.43, p < 0.001), while Chinese nationals were more likely to be immune, OR 4.34 (95 % CI 1.61–12.2, p = 0.004), after controlling for year of screening, gender, age-group and vocation. In 2014, being employed as administrative staff, OR 0.43 (95 % CI 0.29–0.64, p < 0.001) or contract service provider, OR 0.30 (95 % CI 0.19–0.47, p < 0.001), was also associated with a lower odds of being immune than being employed as a nurse. Conclusions There remain a small number of healthcare workers who are non-immune to varicella in our tertiary hospital. A new pre-employment policy of mandatory screening and vaccination may have increased rates of immunity but more needs to be done to ensure that all of our employees are immune to varicella to protect our vulnerable patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Wilhelm Gorny
- National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Chikul Mittal
- National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Sharon Saw
- National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Indumathi Venkatachalam
- National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore.
| | - Dale Andrew Fisher
- National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119074, Republic of Singapore.
| | | |
Collapse
|