Woman, 41, dies of chickenpox infection

February 23, 2006

No mention of vaccine being available - that's a surprise.

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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=284002006

Woman, 41, dies of chickenpox infection

KIZZY TAYLOR

A WOMAN has died after contracting the common chickenpox virus, it emerged

last night.

Louise Doherty, 41, passed away just days after developing the infection,

which is normally associated with children.

The call centre manager from Greenock was rushed to Inverclyde Royal

Hospital after developing serious breathing difficulties. She was

transferred to a special intensive care unit there.

But after days in the special ward, she suffered a blood clot and lost her

fight for life.

Her death, on 11 February, surprised doctors, who described the case as

highly unusual.

Dr Semple, a consultant at Inverclyde Royal, described it as a sad but

isolated case. He said: " Chickenpox can be very unpleasant in adults, but is

not usually life-threatening. It is very rare for chickenpox to be fatal.

" I have never known anyone to die from the infection in my 27-year career. "

Miss Doherty's mother, Agnes, said the family were devastated and were

trying to understand how the disease could have proved fatal. She said of

her daughter: " Even though she was very ill, she kept her sense of humour. "

Her sister, McAlonan, added: " We are devastated. We are a very close

family, and Louise and I were like twins.

" Louise lit up a room, when she walked in and lived life to the full. She

was always out and about. She had a beautiful singing voice. "

The funeral for Ms Doherty, who worked for IBM and lived with her mother,

was held last week at St 's Church, Greenock, where friends and family

celebrated her life.

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. The immune system makes

antibodies during the infection.

These fight the virus and then provide lifelong immunity. Therefore, it is

rare to have more than one bout of the illness. Most people have chickenpox

during childhood and about 90 per cent of people will have had it by the age

of 15. It is rare for adults to contract chickenpox.

It begins with a high fever, aches and headache, followed by a rash with

itchy spots, and the symptoms are mostly more severe in adults.

Dr Jim McMenamin, a consultant epidemiologist at Health Protection Scotland,

said yesterday: " It is mainly a childhood illness, but adults can be

affected.

" It tends to be the quirk that if people escape chickenpox as a child, they

are more likely to suffer complications as an adult. "

This article: http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=284002006

February 24, 2006

This is interesting - and I think proves to the point on why children should

NOT be vaccinated for chickenpox. I have read in other literature that

children can ward off the disease much easier than adults, and that it can

be fatal for adults. If this literature be true, why would we want to

vaccinate children from a disease in hoping they don't contract a week of

unpleasantness, only to possibly expose them to death as an adult?

I wonder if this lady had chickenpox as a child?

Message: 20

Date: Fri, 24 Feb 2006 11:56:02 +0800

From: " mum2mishka " <mum2mishka@...>

Subject: Woman, 41, dies of chickenpox infection

No mention of vaccine being available - that's a surprise.

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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=284002006

Woman, 41, dies of chickenpox infection

KIZZY TAYLOR

February 24, 2006

Didn't she suffer a blood clot? Is this related to the CP?

Sheri B.

mum2mishka <mum2mishka@...> wrote: