Chicken pox is also refers to as varicella, is a communicable disease (CDC – ACIP, 2015). Chicken pox is a viral disease and it is characterized by an itchy red rash in body which mainly begins on face then chest and eventually to the back before spreading allover the body. Herpes varicella-zoster virus causes chickenpox. The oozing blisters or bed linens of an infected person, or contact with the clothing, or droplets as a result of sneeze or cough are all means of spreading the chicken pox. The person infected by the virus will show the symptoms after ten to twenty days of exposure. A day or two days before the rashes are seen is the good period for the disease to spread. The symptoms of chickenpox are characterized with a very itching rash on the face, neck and limbs before spreading allover the body. The rash moved from a red bumps stage to vesicles (fluid-filled blisters) which eventually drain and scab over and it mostly last between seven to ten days. Vesicles are very painful and they may concentrate on the genitals, mouth and around the eyes. Chickenpox affects severely adult men than children or women. Serious complications are highest to the pregnant women who are with suppressed immune system or non-immune (Rossi et al., 2012). The fetus can be infected through placenta if the pregnant women are infected with varicella zoster virus (VZV). When infection occurs in the early stage of gestation especially on the first 28 weeks it will leads to a very fatal varicella syndrome. Complications to the fetus ranges from underdeveloped fingers and toes to malformation of bladder and anal. The other complications include damage to the eye, to brain, to body and skin disorders. Maternal infection late in gestation may lead to premature delivery. The newborns is at risk of developing chickenpox if he/she get expose to VZV and it will be very severe if the mother is not immune. Newborns with symptoms are at risk of developing a serious complications and pneumonia. Chickenpox in most cases does not require further treatment after treating the symptoms. The antiviral drug such as acyclovir when taken will shorten duration of the symptoms and they are very effective to infected pregnant women and people with weakened immune system who are also infected with the VZV. The over-the-counter painkillers and antihistamine may also be recommended by the doctor in order to relieve someone from pain, swelling and itching. Antibiotics will be recommended when secondary skin infections developed and again when a person infected with VZV developed bacterial pneumonia. Young children are more prone to chickenpox but the disease is less severe to them hence morbidity and mortality rate is low (Blackburn et al., 2014). Chickenpox incidence is less prevalence to adults but once adults are infected it is very severe. Therefore the mortality and morbidity is greater in adults than young children.
