Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Sep 25, 2024; 13(3): 92525
Published online Sep 25, 2024. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v13.i3.92525
Ambispective epidemiological observational study of varicella-zoster virus infection: An 18 year-single-center Bulgarian experience
Hristiana M Batselova, Tsvetelina V Velikova
Hristiana M Batselova, Department of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine, Medical University, Plovdiv, University Hospital “St George”, Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria
Tsvetelina V Velikova, Medical Faculty, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia 1407, Bulgaria
Author contributions: Batselova HM and Velikova TV were involved in conceptualizing the idea and writing the draft; all of the authors approved the final version of the paper prior to submission.
Supported by the European Union-NextGenerationEU, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, No. BG-RRP-2.004-0008.
Institutional review board statement: The committee of research ethics of the Medical University of Plovdiv has approved the study, No. P-4279/07.06.2028.
Informed consent statement: All included subjects in the study were informed about the study and signed an informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hristiana M Batselova, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Disaster Medicine, Medical University, Plovdiv, University Hospital “St George”, blvd. Vasil Aprilov 15A, Plovdiv 4000, Bulgaria. dr_batselova@abv.bg
Received: January 29, 2024
Revised: May 20, 2024
Accepted: July 4, 2024
Published online: September 25, 2024
Processing time: 213 Days and 2.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This ambispective epidemiological study shows an 18-year exploration of Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection dynamics in Bulgaria's Plovdiv region. With varicella (chickenpox) and herpes zoster (shingles) as VZV outcomes, our findings expose a noteworthy average incidence of 449.58 per 100000 from 2000 to 2018. Notably, January peaked at 13.6%, while August and September hospitalizations were the lowest at 2.9%. The age groups most impacted, 1-4 and 5-9 years, align with the 'population pro-epidemic' concept. These outcomes demonstrated crucial insights into VZV epidemiology, guiding evidence-based preventive measures and contributing significantly to public health planning.