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Today, 04 July 2009

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Yesterday, 03 July 2009

> A slap in the face

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> Lions warn Boks

Question:
My seven-year-old daughter recently got a "not so mild" case of chicken pox when several other children in her class came down with it. Although she had been vaccinated against it when she was four, I understand it is not always effective.
My question to her doctor was, 'Will she now have full immunity from it as in an unvaccinated person, or will she still need to be revaccinated in about eight or so years — or however long it turns out to be effective?'
His answer was that she will now have the full immunity. This was fine with me, however, yesterday I met a woman who's daughter had been in the exact same situation but when she asked her doctor the same question the answer was different. Her doctor said that her daughter may continue to get mild chicken pox each time of exposure... that she will not have full immunity. Is there a known answer to this question? Can you help?

Answer:
Unfortunately no form of immunity is absolute. However, the chances of a repeat infection of chicken pox after an infection are very small. There are circumstances where this may not be true, namely where a person is immunocompromised for whatever reason, either through medication that they are taking or through illness.