Immunogenicity and adverse effects of live attenuated varicella vaccine (Oka-strain) in children with chronic liver disease

Varicella infection may cause significant morbidity and mortality especiall y in immunocompromised persons. Children with chronic liver disease who und ergo liver transplantation and need long term Immunosuppressive therapy are at risk to acquire the Infection. Twenty-nine children (aged 1-12 years) w ith chronic liver disease were enrolled to receive one dose of live attenua ted varicella vaccine (Oka-strain). During the 16-week follow-up period, no vaccine-related serious adverse events were reported. Seroconversion rates at 8 weeks post vaccination were 100%. Geometric mean titer (GMT) values a nd seropositive rates at 16 weeks tended to relate to the clinical severity of liver disease. This study demonstrates that varicella vaccine is safe a nd immunogenic in children with chronic liver disease.