XXXX : complications and costs.

@entity1 @entity992 @entity4091 @entity281 @entity2462
@entity992 (chickenpox) has long been considered a benign, inevitable disease of childhood. Complications are generally mild and rarely severe, and virtually every individual is infected by adulthood. Infection is associated, however, with a high risk of serious complications in certain high-risk groups, such as leukemic @entity1 . Concerns about the severity of varicella in this population have led to the development and testing of a live, attenuated vaccine. Because of the favorable results thus far available, the vaccine may soon be licensed for use in high-risk individuals. The fact that a vaccine may soon be available has led to an increased interest in the potential benefits of a childhood varicella vaccine program. The costs associated with @entity281 in normal @entity1 without a varicella vaccination program have been estimated to be approximately  400 million, 95% of which is the cost of caring for a @entity1 at home. Vaccination of normal 15-month-old @entity1 with a safe and effective vaccine with long-lasting immunity could reduce the cost by 66% and result in a savings of  7 for every dollar spent on the vaccination program. This assumes that vaccine would be administered only once with measles, mumps, and @entity2462 vaccine, that there would be no increase in the number of varicella cases in older @entity1 who are at increased risk for complications, and that there would be no deleterious effect on the occurrence and severity of @entity4091 .(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
