Running head: EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHICKENPOX
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Epidemiology of Chickenpox
Danielle Alamon
Grand Canyon University: NRS-428VN-0505
10/25/2020
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHICKENPOX
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Epidemiology of Chickenpox
Epidemiology is the study of causes and health patterns within a particular population or
community. Public health nursing works with affected groups to identify the causes and establish
preventive measures. Nurses seek to understand specific information that is critical in assisting
the community in question to handle the incidences and the prevalence of the disease.
Chickenpox is a reportable disease where individuals who are identified to exhibit the symptoms
are reported to the nearest health officer, health provider, or health care organization. Those who
are infected are then required to be isolated to try and curb the transmission of the disease. This
paper will explore the description of this communicable condition, the epidemiologic triangle,
health determinants, community health nurses' roles, and the national agencies involved with
fighting it to understand chickenpox better.
Infectious diseases are transmitted from an individual to another, with the transmission
occurring through contact or inhalation of viruses or bacteria. They can also be referred to as
contagious or communicable conditions, and chickenpox is extremely contagious. It is recorded
to have hit the 90% transmission rate, and by the year 1995, almost all people had acquired the
disease by the time they were adults (Duncan, 2019). Chickenpox is extremely infectious but is
generally mild and used to be very common in the general population among vulnerable
individuals during spring and winter. When the disease hit the US, it was reported that
approximately four million Americans were infected every year.
Chickenpox is caused by a virus and spread through direct contact or air droplets. This
included touching and handling items that have been soiled by an infected individual’s lesions
like clothes, beddings, and linens (Harder & Siedler, 2019). An individual with chickenpox may
have as many as five hundred blisters with the rash spreading all over the body. The CDC asserts
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that the disease can be severe and sometimes life-threatening, particularly in babies, elderly,
pregnant women, and individuals with a weakened immune system. The disease was prevalent
before its vaccine was discovered, with over 100 people succumbing annually to it in the 1990’s
It is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, which leads to an itchy rash that contains small fluid
blisters. Nevertheless, currently, a vaccine can protect children; thus, regular vaccination is
recommended by the CDC.
Symptoms
Chickenpox presents as a rash on the body and includes fluid filled blisters. When the
blisters begin to scab, it can be a sign that incubation period is ending. Blisters can also appear in
the mouth, genitals, or eyelids. It normally takes time, approximately a week for all the blisters to
