dc.contributor.author | Del Fava, Emanuele | |
dc.contributor.author | Rimseliene, Grazina | |
dc.contributor.author | Flem, Elmira | |
dc.contributor.author | De Blasio, Birgitte Freiesleben | |
dc.contributor.author | Tomba, Gianpaolo Scalia | |
dc.contributor.author | Manfredi, Piero | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2016-11-22T10:15:32Z | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2016-12-09T14:51:25Z | |
dc.date.available | 2016-11-22T10:15:32Z | |
dc.date.available | 2016-12-09T14:51:25Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2016 | |
dc.identifier.citation | PLoS ONE 2016, 11(9) | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1932-6203 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11250/2424832 | |
dc.description | - | |
dc.description.abstract | This study applies mixture modelling to examine age-specific immunity to varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in Norway based on the first large-scale serological study in the general population. We estimated the seropositive proportions at different ages and calculated the underlying force of infection by using a sample of 2103 residual sera obtained from patients seeking primary and hospital care. A rapid increase in the VZV-associated immunity is observed in the first years of life with 63% of children being immune by age 5. The increase in the immunity levels slows down thereafter, with a large proportion of adults still susceptible by age 20 (around 14.5%), thus at risk of serious sequelae of varicella infection. The corresponding force of infection peaks during the preschool period, subsequently declines to a minimum between ages 10 and 20 years, and afterwards moderately increases to reach a plateau lasting throughout the childbearing period. In comparison with the traditional cut-off approach, mixture modelling used the whole data without producing any inconclusive cases, led to an unbiased classification of individuals between susceptible and immune, and provided a smoother immune profile by age. These findings represent an important step towards any decision about the introduction of varicella vaccination in Norway, as they are a primary input for mathematical transmission models aimed at evaluating potential vaccination scenarios. | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.uri | http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0163636 | |
dc.title | Estimating Age-Specific Immunity and Force of Infection of Varicella Zoster Virus in Norway Using Mixture Models | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
dc.date.updated | 2016-11-22T10:15:32Z | |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0163636 | |
dc.identifier.cristin | 1402764 | |