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Recent calls for the introduction of a vaccine against chickenpox (varicella-zoster virus infection) following a severe case of the disease in Cambridge, England may surprise many parents who consider the disease to be a mild illness that “everyone gets”. But serious complications of chickenpox do occur – for this reason most paediatricians are enthusiastic about the prevention of the disease and vaccination is routine in many countries, including the US and Australia, but not currently in the UK.

Read the full article on The Conversation website, written by Andrew Pollard.

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