Dear Sir or Madam,

Please could you send me details of the proportion of children in
the UK who develop chicken pox each year, and the proportion of
cases which develop serious complications. Could you also tell me
the proportion of adults catching chicken pox each year.

In addition, could you send me the Department for Health's official
policy on chicken pox parties, where children are deliberately
exposed to chicken pox.

Yours faithfully,

Oliver Bridge

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

19 August 2008

Dear Mr Bridge,

Thank you for your email of 3 August requesting, under the Freedom of
Information Act, information about the proportion of children and adults who
develop chicken pox, as well as the Department of Health’s policy on
‘chicken pox parties’. Your email has been passed to me for reply.

I am afraid that the Department of Health does not hold the information you
have requested. However, the NHS Information Centre (IC) has confirmed that
it may hold relevant data. You can contact the IC at:
[1][email address].

Additional information about the prevalence of chicken pox is available
through the following link:
[2]http://cks.library.nhs.uk/chickenpox/bac....

While the Department does not have any formal policy regarding chickenpox,
it certainly does not encourage 'chickenpox parties'. This is for a number
of reasons, not least that there can be, albeit rarely, severe complications
for a child who contracts chicken pox. The following link to the NHS Direct
website provides detailed information on chicken pox, including advice that
an infected individual should remain at home until the infectious period of
the virus has ended:
[3]www.nhs.uk/conditions/Chickenpox/Pages/Introduction.aspx?url=Pages/What-i
s-it.aspx.

I hope this reply is helpful.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me. Please remember
to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your
request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision,
you should write to:

Section Head
Freedom of Information Unit
Department of Health
Room 334b
Skipton House
80 London Road
SE1 6LH

Email: [4][email address]

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply
directly to the Information Commissioner (ICO) for a decision. Generally,
the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints
procedure provided by the Department. The ICO can be contacted at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely,

David Winks
Customer Service Centre
Department of Health

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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged, monitored and/or
recorded for legal purposes.

References

1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://cks.library.nhs.uk/chickenpox/bac...
3. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Chickenpox/...
4. mailto:[email address]