E.YU. SKRIPCHENKO¹^,², G.P. IVANOVA³, N.V. SKRIPCHENKO¹^,², A.A. VILNITZ¹^,², N.F. PULMAN¹, E.YU. GORELIK¹, A.V. ASTAPOVA¹, I.V. FRIDMAN¹

¹Pediatric Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases, Saint Petersburg

²Saint Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University, Saint Petersburg

³Clinical hospital RZhD-Meditsina, Saint Petersburg

Contact details:

Skripchenko E.Yu. — MD, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher of the Department of Neuroinfections and Organic Pathology of the Nervous System, Associate Professor of the Department of Neonatology with the courses of Neurology and Obstetrics and Gynecology

Address: 9 Prof. Popov St., Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, 197022, tel.: +7 (812) 234-19-01, e-mail: wwave@yandex.ru.

The literature review presents modern information about the peculiarities of the epidemiology and course of chickenpox in children and clarifies the reasons for complicated course of the disease. The modern aspects of pathogenesis are described, starting with the characteristics of the varicella zoster virus structure, the features of its interaction with the macroorganism, the nature of the immune response, which is one of the important factors of an unfavorable course of the disease. The clinical variety of chickenpox complications is reflected, including damage to various organs and systems, primarily the nervous, endocrine systems and the skin. Convincing data on chickenpox as a serious infectious disease are presented. The article provides up-to-date information on the possibilities of specific prevention of chickenpox in children. The presence of a normative-legal basis for chickenpox prevention, as well as the chickenpox vaccine approved for use from 12 months of age, its inclusion in the National Vaccination Schedule for epidemiological indications, the high immunogenicity of the vaccine, its safety and efficacy, make one confident in the existence of a real mechanism of influence on morbidity, which is confirmed by the global experience.

Key words: chicken pox, children, pathogenesis, complications, vaccination.