How serious a disease is varicella?
Prior to the availability of varicella vaccine there were approximately 4 million cases of varicella a year in the U.S. Although varicella is frequently perceived as a disease that does not cause serious illness, especially among healthy children, many health care providers are not aware that 11,000 hospitalizations and 100 deaths occurred every year in the United States before varicella vaccine became available. The majority of deaths and complications occurred in previously healthy individuals.
