Child I watch is getting Varicella today

[WhiteHorse]

My son has not had the vax and the little boy I watch is getting the shot today. Does anyone know if there is a risk of my son getting it from him? I thought I read the Varicella is a live vax and if so, how risky is it or maybe it's not that easy to catch? I will be watching the boy tomorrow and again next week on Thurs.

[xmasbaby7]

I think it sheds in the stool, so vigilant hygiene on your part should be fine.

[Deborah]

I've never heard that it sheds via the stool. I think that might be rotavirus or the live polio vaccine.

I think chickenpox sheds via nasal and oral secretions. If the child gets a bit of CP from the vaccine (as in gets a little sick) it seems more likely there would be shedding. But I'm sort of guessing.

[bbrandonsmom]

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pin.../varicella.pdf

Varicella is transmitted through nasal secretions-like a cold. So, if the child getting the vax does become infected with it, he can spread it to your house and anywhere else he goes. The problem is, you won't know if he is infected until he breaks out. Incubation is up to 3 weeks.

[hollytheteacher]

I can't imagine it is easy to catch from a recently vaxed kid. I teach at a preschool where the vaxing is almost exactly 50 50. Meaning half of the kids are vaxed on schedule and half either have no vaxes or just a couple.

None of our unvaxed kids have ever had ANY of the vaccine preventable diseases (except pertussis and the kid wasn't at our school yet when he got it). In fact I know many people who WANT their kids to get chicken pox and still haven't found them.

I don't really see shedding as a possibility except for maybe EXTREMELY rare situations.