Question for medical types:

[Doc_Lobster]

I work for a cancer center (in the research building, no patient contact). I am required to get a varicella immunity titer as a condition of employment.

Any idea why varicella? I worked in a nursing home in high school and had to get a tb test, but not here. Just varicella.

[myordinarylife]

Varicella is the chicken pox vaccine, it was not licensed for use until 1995, which was probably after you finished receiving your childhood vaccines. Chances are, unless you are very young, you were not vaccinated for this as a child and they want you to get it now to make sure that you have an immunity to this. It is also highly recommended that anyone with an immunodeficiency receive this vaccine, anyone receiving chemotherapy is considered immuno-compromised so I would guess they are trying to reduce the risk of exposure.

[Doc_Lobster]

I have had chicken pox, so I assume that I'm immune. It just seems weird that they only test for varicella and not any other disease that would be dangerous for an immune compromised person.

[Doc_Lobster]

They aren't asking me to get a vaccine, they are testing me for immunity.

[myordinarylife]

I agree with you, i'm not sure why they don't require the other vaccines, maybe because of all the things we are vaccinated for chicken pox is the only one that there are still routine cases of? There is a percentage of the population that does not develop an immunity to chicken pox even though they have had it, I have had the chicken pox three separate times and i've had shingles twice. I think getting the vaccine after you've had chicken box can reduce the likelihood of getting shingles, but I could be completely making that up.

[sterl724]

Yes. Chickenpox and shingles come from the sme virus. Even though I have had the chicken pox when I as like 5, I can always still get shingles.

[Norticprincess]

Guess from the patient side, shingles/chicken pox in immuno compromised people is a PITA and they go crazy about preventing it? They want to make sure you have immunity to it. I don't have any active form of contagious herpes ( I've had chicken pox and mono in college) but was still put on acyclovir the day I was admitted to the oncology floor for diagnosis to prevent a shingles outbreak. When I asked my nurse about it, she said it was like candy for the floor and they put every paitent on it to prevent/shorten the course of shingles as it has to be started within 48 hours to be effective.

DH's out paitent clinic was nowhere near as crazy about it, as the hospital is about it in the clinic and inpatient.

[-Moe-]

Varicella IS chicken pox (the virus is called varicella zoster). Different research centers (especially if they're affiliated with hospitals, regardless of whether the research center is totally separate/different buildings) have different employment requirements for immunization. I know that DH's also has a TB and a varicella requirement. I doubt that it's that VZV gets into samples, but who knows.

Do people in your building ever run to the hospital and get samples there? If there's any "cross contamination" of people between buildings, then yeah, I'd understand why, since it's crucial that these viral contaminants don't affect cancer patients.