The Study of Epidemiological Situation of Varicella and Its Complications in Albanian Children

. Varicella zoster is a common infection disease. The predominance of uncomplicated cases in children tends to overshadow the morbidity associated with severe cases and the resultant hospitalization and death. The serious problems of varicella are reduced after introduction of the vaccine against the varicella. The aim of this study was to show the epidemiological data, risk factors, complications and the tendency of this disease. In study are included all children with varicella aged 0 to 14 years old presented in our hospital during the period January 2012- december2015. Epidemiological data analyzed were sex, age, origin, risk factors and complications. During this period 1165 children were presented with signs of varicella. Among them 992 (85.1 %) were uncomplicated cases, 173 (14.8 %) were complicated. Age group most affected was 1-5 years old with 734 cases (63 %) followed by age of 6-14 with 344 cases (29.5 %) and age group 0-1 with 87 cases (7.4 %).685 cases or 58.7 % were male. Most of the cases 877 (74.7 %) came from urban zone. Some of the complications we found were skin and soft tissue infections, cerebellitis, pneumonia etc. (tab.1). We observed risk factor such as leukemia, atopic dermatitis etc. Varicella often is followed by serious complications. The result of this study can contribute to evaluate the options for varicella vaccination.