Skip Global navigation and goto content

It's a New Day in Public Health.

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

37 Cases
No new
outbreaks
<1 year olds had
highest incidence
86% cases not
up-to-date or
unknown vaccinations status


The number of varicella cases reported in February 2023 decreased from the previous month and was below the previous 5-year average. Due to robust vaccination programs, there is no longer discernable seasonality for varicella cases in the United States of America.

1. A graph showing a summary of varicella cases reported by month in 2023 as compared to the previous 5-year average. In February 2023, 37 cases of varicella were reported, which is below the previous 5-year average.

In February 2023, 37 varicella cases were reported in 16 counties, outlined in black in the map. From November 2022 through January 2023 the average county rates varied throughout the state.



In 2023, 81 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, 442 in 2022, and 81 in 2023.

In February, the varicella rate was highest among <1 year olds at 0.85 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, 3 cases were household-associated and no 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 February.

People with shingles infection can transmit the virus that causes varicella to people without immunity. In February, 3 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 2023 and the previous 3-month average. In February 2023, 3 household-associated cases and no outbreak-associated cases were identified out of a total of 37 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.