Skip Global navigation and goto content

It's a New Day in Public Health.

The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote, and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county, and community efforts.

Skip MegaMenu and goto content
Megamenu requires javascript to be enabled in your browser.
Left navigation requires javascript to be enabled in your browser.
* Enter the following to confirm subscription

Varicella (Chickenpox) in Florida

Florida Health

Disease Control

February Key Points

71 Cases
Two new
outbreaks
<1 year olds had
highest incidence
79% cases not
up-to-date or
unknown vaccinations status


The number of varicella cases reported in February 2024 increased from the previous month and was above the previous 5-year average. Due to robust vaccination programs, there is no longer discernable seasonality for varicella cases in the United States.

A graph showing a summary of varicella cases reported by month in 2024 as compared to the previous 5-year average. In February 2024, 71 cases of varicella were reported, which is above the previous 5-year average.

In February 2024, 71 varicella cases were reported in 23 counties, outlined in black in the map. From December 2023 through February 2024 the average county rates varied throughout the state.

A map showing the previous 3-month average varicella rates per 100,000 population. Counties with one or more cases reported in February are Alachua Brevard Broward Citrus Miami-Dade Escambia Hardee Highlands Hillsborough Lee Leon Marion Nassau Okaloosa Orange Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk St. Johns St. Lucie Seminole Volusia Counties with a rate of 0.07-0.18 per 100,000 population are: Sarasota Osceola Manatee Miami-Dade St. Lucie Duval St. Johns Leon Alachua Volusia Polk Orange Broward Seminole Brevard Pasco Santa Rosa Counties with a rate of 0.19-0.58 per 100,000 population are: Bay Citrus Palm Beach Okaloosa Hillsborough Nassau Lee Escambia Counties with a rate of 0.59-1.32 per 100,000 population are: Marion Pinellas Highlands Hardee

In 2024, 125 varicella cases were reported. The annual number of reported varicella cases increased from 2018 to 2019 and decreased significantly in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Cases reported in 2023 returned to levels similarly observed prior to the 2020 pandemic.
*CDC MMWR report year

A graph showing a summary of the total number of varicella cases reported by year with an emphasis on 2019. In total for each year there have been: 853 in 2018; 983 in 2019; 348 in 2020; 365 in 2021, 428 in 2022, 659 in 2023, and 55 in 2024.

In February, the varicella rate was highest among <1 year olds at 3.01 cases per 100,000 population. Infants <1 year old are too young to receive varicella vaccination, which is why vaccination of siblings, parents, grandparents and other age groups is important in infection prevention among infants.



In February, 7 cases were household-associated and 22 case were outbreak-associated. For most varicella cases, exposure to other known cases is not identified. In Florida, transmission setting is not routinely identified for non-outbreak cases, resulting in 41% of cases reporting unknown setting in February.

People with shingles infection can transmit the virus that causes varicella to people without immunity. In February, 11 cases reported having contact with someone diagnosed with shingles during their exposure period.

A graph showing a bar graph of total cases compared to household associated cases and outbreak associated cases for February 2024 and the previous 3-month average. In February 2024, 7 household-associated cases and 22 outbreak-associated cases were identified out of a total of 71 cases.

  • Resources
Varicella Laboratory Testing Guidelines

*Note: This page contains materials in the Portable Document Format (PDF). The free Acrobat Reader may be required to view these files.