Original article / research
|
||||||
An Outbreak of Varicella in Rural Area of Surat District, South Gujarat |
||||||
Correspondence
Address : Tanvi Harivadan Panwala, Department of Microbiology, Majura Gate, Surat, Gujarat, India. E-mail: drtanvi2006@yahoo.co.in |
||||||
Introduction: Chickenpox outbreaks are common in naive unvaccinated communities in India as compared to western world. The routine childhood immunisation in few countries has reduced the incidence of the disease and associated complications. Aim: To report the outbreak of varicella which occurred in Pariyar village of Olpad, Surat district, Gujarat, India with confirmation of chickenpox cases by serological test. Materials and Methods: The Department of Microbiology, Government Medical College, Surat, Gujarat was informed about the outbreak of fever with rash in Pariya village of Olpad, Surat district, Gujarat in the 3rd week of March 2017. The serum samples were collected from affected patients and were tested for the Varicella zoster Virus (VZV) IgM by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The VZV specific IgM and IgG antibodies were detected using commercially available kits (Demeditec diagnostics, GmbH, Germany) as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Results: After testing the blood samples received from 40 clinically suspected cases, VZV IgM antibodies were detected in 30 (75%) cases, and VZV IgG antibodies were detected in 38 (95%) cases. A total of 28 (70%) patients showed the presence of both VZV IgM and IgG antibodies. Conclusion: There is a need to train the peripheral health care workers for early identification of highly contagious communicable diseases and introducing the varicella vaccine in the universal immunisation programme to prevent such outbreaks. |
||||||
[ FULL TEXT ] | [ ] | ||||||