~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This message is from PedTalk! To reply to the group, use "" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >My child had varicella twice, once at 9 months and once at 2 years, both > >times while I was in residency and money was tight. (Incidentally, it is not > >unusual for a child to have a second attack when the first came prior to > >their first birthday.) > Does anybody know of any other studies showing otherwise? > > Michael Sachs, M.D. > General Pediatrician I guess I phrased this poorly. Second cases of varicella are extremely rare as a rule. They are, however, more likely in children who had their first episode prior to one year of age. This is most likely due to the overall immaturity of the immune system. I would certainly agree that the most likely outcome for a child who has chickenpox as an infant is that they will develop lifelong immunity, but this is less certain than with an older child. I would also agree that the severity of illness (often the source of much time wasted counting lesions) is not at all a predictor of future immunity. As far as your personal experience with a 10-month-old who had a very mild case, consider yourself lucky. My son at 9 months had a pretty rip-roaring infection, and it's awfully hard to console a kid that age who itches like all hell. To once again put in a pitch for the vaccine, although the failure rate is higher than with wild disease, the infections that do occur after immunization tend to be much milder. No one has yet studied immune status after infection after vaccination, though; it is possible (however unlikely) that immunity will still be incomplete. Time will tell. Andrew M. Eisen, MD Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of Nevada School of Medicine