A 15-year experience with varicella infections in a pediatric burn unit

Because of their well described global immunosuppression, varicella infecti on may be hazardous in burned children. It is therefore important to preven t cross-infections within pediatric burn units. We describe a 15-year exper ience with varicella in a pediatric burn unit, focusing on the morbidity as sociated with the infection and measures that have been effective in the pr evention of cross-infection. We found that varicella infection in acutely b urned children is associated with pneumonitis, but little wound related mor bidity. Despite the deceptively long incubation period, prompt identificati on and isolation of index cases was associated with an extremely low incide nce of cross-infection. Until widespread administration of varicella vaccin e confers herd immunity, varicella remains a threat to hospitalized young c hildren, highlighting the importance of a well planned and executed index c ase isolation strategy. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.