Abstract
We conducted this study to determine the impact of chickenpox on two different ethnic populations in southern Israel: Jews and Bedouins. Hospital records of 113 patients discharged from the Soroka Medical Center with the diagnosis of varicella during a 4.5-year period were reviewed. Mean age was 9.2 years and the average hospital stay was 5.4 days. Bacterial skin or soft tissue infections were the most common complications (30%), followed by pneumonia (17%) and central nervous system complications (11.5%). There were no fatal cases throughout the study period. The calculated hospitalization rate for varicella was one in every 319 cases. Major differences between Jews and Bedouins included an older mean age of Bedouin patients (13.9 years versus 4.5 years); higher hospitalization rate (relative risk [R.R.]: 2.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.9-4.2), and higher risk for complicated varicella (R.R.: 2.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.4). Hospitalization of patients with varicella in southern Israel is common and varicella infection in Bedouins is associated with greater morbidity compared with that in Jews in southern Israel.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
