What are the complications of chickenpox?
Complications of chickenpox include: • Skin and soft tissue infections • Dehydration • Pneumonia • Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) Most healthy children and adults recover from chickenpox without additional health problems. Severe disease is more likely to occur in the following: • Infants less than 1 year of age • Persons 15 years of age and older • Persons with weakened immune systems • Pregnant women • The fetuses of women who develop chickenpox during pregnancy. The risk of fetal complications has been shown to be low (less than 2%), but is highest when pregnant women develop chickenpox during 13-20 weeks’ gestation. • Newborns whose mothers develop chickenpox rash from 5 days before to 2 days after delivery. Since the vaccine became available in the United States, chickenpox-related deaths have declined from 115 in 1995 to 16 in 2003. Before vaccine was available, 11,000 people were hospitalized each year. Two studies have shown that hospitalizations have declined 75% fro
