10-1-03

RISE IN SHINGLES CASES LINKED TO UNIVERSAL CHICKENPOX VACCINE 
PROGRAM
By Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D
The results of my new study published in the October 1, 2003, issue 
of the 
European journal Vaccine indicate that a higher than expected 
number of shingles 
cases was reported among children with a previous history of 
chickenpox. The 
rates observed approach those normally seen only in older adults.  
Results of 
the study suggest mass vaccination with varicella (chickenpox) 
vaccine may be 
responsible for this adverse effect.  Complications from shingles, 
which is 
caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus that lies dormant 
in the 
body, result in about three times the number of hospitalizations and 
five times 
the number of deaths as those from chickenpox disease itself. 
Shingles, usually 
mild in children, can be severe in adults.

On March 17, 1995, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
approved the 
live varicella vaccine, and shortly thereafter 38 states mandated 
that every 
infant be inoculated at twelve months of age. The CDC-funded 
Varicella Active 
Surveillance Project (VASP) of the Los Angeles County Department 
of Health 
Services was established to study trends in varicella disease among 
the 300,000 
residents in the Antelope Valley health district. Because this high 
desert 
community, including the primary cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, 
is geographically 
distinct with few individuals seeking healthcare outside the region, 
it is 
nearly ideal for scientists to detect preliminary disease trends.

Because the vaccine is eliminating chickenpox disease, children and 
adults no 
longer receive the natural boost to their immune systems that they 
received 
from periodic exposures to the disease. Due to the dramatic decline 
in 
chickenpox, children are now experiencing a higher incidence of 
shingles.

To compensate for this, vaccine manufacturers plan to license a 
booster 
"shingles" vaccine to substitute for the natural boost in immunity 
that occurred 
when chickenpox disease was previously circulating in the 
population. I have 
serious doubts about the effectiveness of this approach to the 
impending problem.

This will likely lead to endless disease-and-cure cycles. Varicella 
vaccination would have been less problematic if all children had the 
opportunity to 
gain natural immunity and only those still susceptible at twelve 
years-of-age 
were vaccinated.

Previous research shows that Japanese pediatricians who were 
exposed to 
patients with chickenpox demonstrated shingles incidence rates 
one-half to 
one-eighth that of the general population. In 2002, researchers in 
England and Wales 
also found a lower incidence of shingles among adults living with 
children 
compared to those living without children. 
According to a spokesperson from the FDA, "There is no legal 
precedent 
requiring a vaccine manufacturer to perform studies on individuals 
who have not 
received their product."

However, to assess the safety of chickenpox vaccine, continued 
study of the 
effect of widespread vaccination on increasing shingles incidence is 
critical. 
I hope this new study encourages other investigators to examine 
shingles rates 
not only among vaccine recipients, but also among those who have 
not received 
vaccine.

If a clear vaccine-associated increase in shingles is confirmed in 
further 
studies in broader populations, this should be considered by public 
health 
authorities in evaluating vaccine use strategies.

For more information on the current study, see the three reports 
published on 
18 consecutive pages in Vaccine (Volume 21, Issue 27/28) or 
contact Gary S. 
Goldman, Ph.D., at (661) 944-5661 or via e-mail at 
pearblossominc@aol.com

About Gary S. Goldman, Ph.D 
>From 1995 to 2000, shingles was not studied, and positive aspects 
of 
vaccination contributed by Dr. Goldman were published in the Journal 
of the American 
Medical Association (JAMA) and other medical journals. In 2000, 
after hearing 
reports of school nurses observing cases of shingles in children for 
the first 
time, Goldman suggested shingles be added to the active 
surveillance project. 
After two years of shingles data collection, Goldman documented the 
adverse 
effects that might well be associated with the universal varicella 
vaccination 
program.