Table 1.
Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of patients with laboratory-confirmed varicella, Tshuapa Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, September 2009–February 2014 by age group (N = 366)
| All | Persons Aged 0–19a | Persons Aged ≥ 20a | p-valueb | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 366 | 242 | 124 | ||
| Variable | # (%) | # (%) | # (%) | |
| Patient status | ||||
| Alive | 362 (99.7) | 240 (99.6) | 122 (100.0) | 1.000c |
| Deadd | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.4) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Fever present | ||||
| Yes | 356 (99) | 236 (99) | 120 (99) | 1.000c |
| No | 4 (1) | 3 (1) | 1 (1) | |
| Febrile prodrome | ||||
| Yes | 356 (98) | 235 (98) | 121 (99) | 0.668c |
| No | 6 (2) | 5 (2) | 1 (1) | |
| Lesions same stage of evolution | ||||
| Yes | 254 (85) | 170 (87) | 84 (82) | 0.312 |
| No | 44 (15) | 26 (13) | 18 (18) | |
| All lesions same size and stage of evolution | ||||
| Yes | 255 (86) | 174 (89) | 81 (79) | 0.021 |
| No | 42 (14) | 21 (11) | 21 (21) | |
| Lesions deep-seated and firm | ||||
| Yes | 273 (91) | 180 (92) | 93 (89) | 0.487 |
| No | 27 (9) | 16 (8) | 11 (11) | |
| Location of lesions | ||||
| Face | 356 (97) | 237 (98) | 119 (96) | 0.316c |
| Trunk | 346 (95) | 229 (95) | 117 (94) | 0.913 |
| Arm | 332 (91) | 214 (88) | 116 (94) | 0.120 |
| Legs | 119 (33) | 85 (35) | 34 (27) | 0.136 |
| Arm or Legs | 332 (91) | 216 (89) | 116 (94) | 0.181 |
| Palms of hands | 306 (84) | 202 (83) | 104 (84) | 0.922 |
| Soles of feet | 252 (69) | 168 (69) | 84 (68) | 0.743 |
| Genitals | 48 (13) | 32 (13) | 16 (13) | 0.932 |
| Number of lesions | ||||
| <50 lesions | 105 (30) | 81 (35) | 24 (21) | 0.007 |
| ≥50 lesions | 245 (70) | 152 (65) | 93 (79) | |
| Presence of following symptoms | ||||
| Chills or sweats | 291 (80) | 199 (82) | 92 (74) | 0.095 |
| Fatigue | 275 (75) | 176 (73) | 99 (80) | 0.238 |
| Headache | 270 (74) | 171 (71) | 99 (80) | 0.121 |
| Muscle pain (myalgia) | 200 (55) | 120 (50) | 80 (65) | 0.018 |
| Lesions that itch | 187 (51) | 126 (52) | 61 (49) | 0.737 |
| Sore throat when swallowing | 179 (49) | 123 (51) | 56 (45) | 0.336 |
| Cough | 130 (36) | 97 (40) | 33 (27) | 0.010 |
| Oral ulcers | 127 (35) | 94 (39) | 33 (27) | 0.019 |
| Sensitivity to light | 84 (23) | 51 (21) | 33 (27) | 0.233 |
| Vomiting/nausea | 56 (15) | 35 (14) | 21 (17) | 0.461 |
| Conjunctivitis | 43 (12) | 27 (11) | 16 (13) | 0.634 |
| Lymphadenopathy | ||||
| Inguinal | 137 (37) | 82 (34) | 55 (44) | 0.046 |
| Axillary | 163 (45) | 101 (42) | 62 (50) | 0.169 |
| Cervical | 189 (52) | 125 (52) | 64 (52) | 0.885 |
| Patient bedridden | 40 (11) | 21 (9) | 19 (15) | 0.056 |
| Type of interaction with a contact that had similar symptoms | ||||
| Family contact/live together | 148 (66) | 109 (72) | 39 (54) | 0.018 |
| Prepared food together | 47 (21) | 27 (18) | 20 (28) | 0.062 |
| Shared a bed/slept together | 46 (21) | 31 (21) | 15 (21) | 0.845 |
| Took care of this sick person | 40 (18) | 19 (13) | 21 (29) | 0.001 |
| Friend at school or play | 13 (6) | 11 (7) | 2 (3) | 0.354c |
| Met at the market | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 2 (3) | 0.098c |
| Hunted together | 6 (3) | 1 (1) | 5 (7) | 0.012 c |
| Friend/social acquaintance | 14 (6) | 6 (4) | 8 (11) | 0.040 c |
Note, significant p-values are bolded
The age group distributions are as follows: < 1 (4%), 1–4 (14%), 5–9 (21%), 10–14 (16%), 15–19 (11%), 20–29 (14%), 30–39 (10%), 40–49 (4%), and ≥50 (6%) year-olds.
Comparison of clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of varicella cases by age group; comparisons are of varicella cases in persons aged 0–19 years versus persons aged ≥20 years.
Fisher’s exact test used.
This was a death that occurred in a 7 year-old with laboratory-confirmed varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection though the actual cause of death is unknown.