Varicella (chickenpox) morbidity and mortality in hospital: about 19 cases collected at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital, Burkina Faso

Varicella is a viral disease whose cause is poorly known in Burkina Faso. The aim of this study is to describe varicella features in the department of infectious diseases at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital. We here report a series of 19 cases of patients hospitalized between the 1st January 2005 and 31st December 2014. The study included all patients with complete and workable medical records who received a positive diagnosis of varicella. The rate of varicella was 6.2%, accounting for 14.6% of febrile rash. It had been more common in 2011, from January to March. The average age was 19 years and half of the patients were aged between 6 and 30 years. Comorbidities were dominated by HIV infection and herpes. Clinically, fever and pruritus were the typical symptoms and vesicles were the most common type of eruption. On admission, the main complications included pulmonary, hematological and cutaneous complications. The median duration of hospitalization was 5 days, ranging between 0 and 13 days. The main treatments were based on antiviral drugs in 9 cases, antipyretic drugs in 19 cases, topic drugs in 17 cases and antihistamines in 11 cases. Out of 19 cases of varicella, 14 were cured and 2 died, including 1 adult out of 10 and 1 child out of 9. Varicella is usually a benign disease. It can be fatal in adults and children with severe complications.