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Varicella (Chickenpox) in Florida

Florida Health

Disease Control

October Key Points

63 Cases
No new
outbreak
<1 year olds had
highest incidence
54% cases not
up-to-date or
unknown vaccinations status


The number of varicella cases reported in October 2023 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 2023 as compared to the previous 5-year average. In October 2023, 63 cases of varicella were reported, which is above the previous 5-year average.

In October 2023, 63 varicella cases were reported in 26 counties, outlined in black in the map. From August 2023 through October 2023 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 October are Brevard Broward Collier Miami-Dade Escambia Hernando Highlands Hillsborough Indian River Lee Leon Manatee Marion Okaloosa Okeechobee Orange Osceola Palm Beach Pasco Pinellas Polk Putnam St. Lucie Santa Rosa Seminole Volusia Counties with a rate of 0.07-0.24 per 100,000 population are: Duval Sarasota Miami-Dade Pinellas Santa Rosa Orange Bay Escambia Leon Counties with a rate of 0.25-1.26 per 100,000 population are: Citrus Manatee Clay Highlands Okaloosa Brevard Collier Hernando Charlotte Seminole Lee Hillsborough Palm Beach Osceola Putnam Broward Marion Polk Pasco Indian River St. Lucie Volusia Levy Baker Counties with a rate of 1.27-3.15 per 100,000 population are: Walton Okeechobee.

In 2023, 535 varicella cases were reported. The annual number of reported varicella cases increased from 2018 to 2019 and decreased significantly in 2020 and 2021.

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, and 413 in 2023.

In October, the varicella rate was highest among <1 year olds at 2.96 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 October, 5 cases were household-associated and 0 cases 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 62% of cases reporting unknown setting in October.

People with shingles infection can transmit the virus that causes varicella to people without immunity. In October, 6 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 October 2023 and the previous 3-month average. In October 2023, 5 household-associated cases and 0 outbreak-associated cases were identified out of a total of 63 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.