Seroprevalence of Antibody to Varicella Among Somali Refugees

Nysse, Lana J.; Pinsky, Norman A.; Bratberg, Jeffrey; Babar-Weber, Azra Y.; Samuel, Terri T.; Krych, Esther H.; Ziegler, Aaron W.; Jimale, Mahamoud A.; Vierkant, Robert A.; Jacobson, Robert M.

doi:10.4065/82.2.175

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…One study of Somali refugees who resettled in Minnesota in 1998 found similar findings to seroprevalence rates as in this study, with a VZV-seropositivity of 94% among 18–29 year-olds and 95% seropositive among ≥30 year-olds [12]. However, other previous studies reported lower rates of VZV seropositivity among resettled refugee populations.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Seroprevalence of Varicella-Zoster Virus in Five US-Bound Refugee Populations

Leung

Lopez

Mitchell

et al. 2013

J Immigrant Minority Health

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Background Little is known about varicella-zoster virus (VZV) susceptibility in US-bound refugee populations, although published data suggest that VZV seroprevalence in these refugee populations may be lower than US populations. We describe VZV seroprevalence in 5 U.S.-bound refugee groups: (1) Bhutanese in Nepal, (2) Burmese on the Thailand-Burma (Myanmar) border, (3) Burmese in Malaysia, (4) Iraqi in Jordan, and (5) Somali in Kenya. Methods Sera were tested for presence of VZV IgG antibodies among adults aged 18–45 years. Results Overall VZV seroprevalence was 97% across all refugee groups. VZV seroprevalence was also high across all age groups, with seroprevalence ranging from 92–100% for 18–26 year-olds depending on refugee group and 93–100% for 27–45 year-olds. Discussion VZV seroprevalence was unexpectedly high in these 5 US-bound refugee groups, though may not reflect seroprevalence in other refugee groups. Additional studies are needed to better understand VZV seroprevalence in refugee populations over time and by region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Seroprevalence of Varicella-Zoster Virus in Five US-Bound Refugee Populations

Leung

Lopez

Mitchell

et al. 2013

J Immigrant Minority Health

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“…Pediatric varicella vaccination is not practiced in most countries, where primary varicella remains ubiquitous (1). Seronegative adults remain susceptible to primary varicella and curiously, VZV seropositivity amongst adults is considerably under 100% in some areas near the equator (3). Conversely, herpes simplex virus seroprevalence is higher in some equatorial regions (4) than in the US.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive CD4 and CD8 T Cell Cross-Reactivity between Alphaherpesviruses

Jing

Laing

Dong

et al. 2016

The Journal of Immunology

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The alphaherpesvirinae subfamily includes HSV types 1 and 2 and the sequence-divergent pathogen varicella zoster virus (VZV). T cells, controlled by TCR and HLA molecules that tolerate limited epitope amino acid variation, might cross-react between these microbes. We show that memory PBMC expansion with either HSV or VZV enriches for CD4 T cell lines that recognize the other agent at the whole virus, protein, and peptide levels, consistent with bi-directional cross-reactivity. HSV-specific CD4 T cells recovered from HSV seronegative persons can be partially explained by such VZV cross-reactivity. HSV-1-reactive CD8 T cells also cross-react with VZV-infected cells, full-length VZV proteins, and VZV peptides, and kill VZV-infected dermal fibroblasts. Mono- and cross-reactive CD8 T cells use distinct TCRB CDR3 sequences. Cross-reactivity to VZV is reconstituted by cloning and expressing TCRA/TCRB receptors from T-cells that are initially isolated using HSV reagents. Overall, we define 13 novel CD4 and CD8 HSV-VZV cross-reactive epitopes and strongly imply additional cross-reactive peptide sets. Viral proteins can harbor both CD4 and CD8 HSV/VZV cross-reactive epitopes. Quantitative estimates of HSV/VZV cross-reactivity for both CD4 and CD8 T cells vary from 10-50%. Based on these findings, we hypothesize host herpesvirus immune history may influence the pathogenesis and clinical outcome of subsequent infections or vaccinations for related pathogens, and that cross-reactive epitopes and TCRs may be useful for multi-alphaherpesvirus vaccine design and adoptive cellular therapy.

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“…In temperate countries, more than 90% of people are infected before adolescence [2], whereas in tropical regions varicella tends to occur at a later age causing many adult cases, suggested by the reports, demonstrating a high prevalence of varicella seronegativity among adolescents and adults [1,3-6]. …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outbreak of chickenpox in a refugee camp of northern Thailand

2010

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Although chickenpox is a generally mild, self-limited illness of children, it can cause fatal disease in adults. Accumulating reports from tropical countries showed a high prevalence of seronegativity among the adults, implying that varicella diseases could become a heavy burden in tropical countries. However, in the situation of humanitarian emergencies in tropical areas, chickenpox has largely been ignored as a serious communicable disease, due to lack of data regarding varicella mortality and hospital admissions in such a context. This is the first report describing an outbreak of chickenpox in a refugee camp of tropical region. In 2008, we experienced a varicella outbreak in ethnic Lao Hmong refugee camp in Phetchabun Province, northern Thailand. The attack rate was 4.0% (309/7,815) and this caused 3 hospitalizations including one who developed severe varicella pneumonia with respiratory failure. All hospitalizations were exclusively seen in adults, and the proportion of patients ≥15 years old was 13.6% (42/309). Because less exposure to varicella-zoster virus due to low population density has previously been suggested to be one of the reasons behind higher prevalence of susceptible adults in tropics, the influx of displaced people from rural areas to a densely populated asylum might result in many severe adult cases once a varicella outbreak occurs. Control interventions such as vaccination should be considered even in refugee camp, if the confluence of the risk factors present in this situation.

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Seroprevalence of Antibody to Varicella Among Somali Refugees

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Seroprevalence of Varicella-Zoster Virus in Five US-Bound Refugee Populations

Seroprevalence of Varicella-Zoster Virus in Five US-Bound Refugee Populations

Extensive CD4 and CD8 T Cell Cross-Reactivity between Alphaherpesviruses

Outbreak of chickenpox in a refugee camp of northern Thailand

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