Investigation of chicken pocket seoprevalence in children aged 7-15 by the ELİSA method

Although chickenpox is described as a benign disease, it can lead to complications that can lead to hospitalization and even death. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of varicella in children aged 7-15 years with the ELISA method. Children between the ages of 7 and 15 who applied to Gaziantep University Şahinbey Research and Application Hospital were included in the study. Blood samples taken from a total of 100 children were evaluated. Varicella-Zoster ELISA IgG/IgM (Vircell Microbiologists, Spain) kit was used. Measurements with the fully automatic ELISA method were studied in the microbiology laboratory of our hospital using the Basic Robotic Immunoassay operator device. VZV IgG positivity was found to be 78%, and 14% of the children were found to be negative and 8% as intermediate values. VZV IgG positivity is 84.6% in children aged 7-8, 72.5% between the ages of 9-10, 82.6% between the ages of 11-12, 81.3% in children aged 13-14, and 75% in children aged 15 years. It was seen that there was no significant difference in terms of VZV IgG results according to age groups. Although VZV IgG positivity was found to be higher in girls (86.7%) than in boys (70.9%), it was observed that VZV IgG positivity did not differ significantly by gender. VZV IgG positivity was found in 90.1% of those who had varicella or had varicella vaccine, while this rate was 26.3% in those who did not have varicella or did not have varicella vaccine. The difference between the groups was found to be statistically significant. Considering the results obtained from the study, it is seen that the seroprevalence of varicella is high in children aged 7-15 years. However, the fact that there is a very high level of VZV IgG negativity such as 73.7% in those who have not had chickenpox or have not been vaccinated is thought to be important in terms of exposure to VZV in adulthood in these children, leading to a more severe disease and even the development of complications.