“Cases of chickenpox among children have increased four and a half times. This is the result of two years of anti-epidemic measures. A new-born population is accumulating that has not passed the disease”, explained on BNT the vaccine prevention consultant to the Sofia Municipality, Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev.

He pointed out that children pass the disease mildly - with a rash and fever, but adults who have not been sick and can be infected should be vaccinated because there may be complications. In addition to the rash and fever, they can get pneumonia or inflammation of the central nervous system.

"There is also treatment for adults. If it is started with the first rashes, the effect is very good," assured the microbiologist.

“A year ago I proposed that chickenpox immunization be made mandatory. The vaccine is now recommended and people can buy it. I advise parents to put it on their children. I suggested that the state provide vaccines to those who wish, and that the mother, who does not want her child to be vaccinated, sign a statement: ‘I am aware that the state provides me with a vaccine, but I refuse to give it to the child.’ This has a very educational effect, because then you take responsibility for the child and its condition if it gets sick. For seven years I was the head of the Expert Council on Oversight of Immunoprophylaxis, and we had introduced a lot of things to the final step of being accepted. One of the suggestions was that when the mother returns from the maternity ward with the child, the adults around her should be reimmunized against whooping cough. This is a European practice”, explained the professor.

According to him, there is no need to give antiviral medicine to children infected with chickenpox, because they will get over the infection easily. He indicated that the incubation period is 21 days. Prof. Kantardzhiev also said that in Great Britain there was a practice of making "parties" to infect children in order to get chickenpox easily at an early age, which according to him is not a bad idea. He gave the example of Israel, which is discussing the introduction of a mandatory vaccine against the disease for both children and adults.

The professor also commented on COVID-19 in Bulgaria. According to him, a new sub-variant of Omicron, which is even easier to recover from, is now being distributed. "There have been no reports of hospitalizations or deaths with this subvariant," he said.

“There is already an epidemic spread of the flu in Bulgaria. Both variants of the group A virus have been found. There is a very good antiviral drug. If a person takes the medicine at the first symptoms, on the second day they can return to work, since they neither release the virus nor are sick”, said Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev.

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