Perspectives on optimal control of varicella and herpes zoster by mass routine varicella vaccination.

ABSTRACT: Herpes zoster arises from reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), causing varicella in children. As reactivation occurs when cell-mediated immunity (CMI) declines, and there is evidence that re-exposure to VZV boosts CMI, mass varicella immunization might increase the zoster burden, at least for some decades. Fear of this natural zoster boom is the main reason for the paralysis of varicella immunization in Europe. We apply optimal control to a realistically parametrized age-structured model for VZV transmission and reactivation to investigate whether feasible varicella immunization paths that are optimal in controlling both varicella and zoster exist. We analyse the optimality system numerically focusing on the role of the cost functional, of the relative zoster-varicella cost an

SUBMITTER: Betta M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4810870 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature