Varicella vaccine from a child with natural varicella, introduced into human embryonic lung cell cultures, adapted to and propagated in embryonic guinea pig cell cultures, and finally propagated in human diploid cell cultures. Japan was among the first countries to vaccinate for chickenpox. The vaccine was first licensed in the United States in 1995. Routine vaccination against varicella zoster virus is also performed in the United States, and the incidence of chickenpox has been dramatically reduced there (from 4 million cases per year in the pre-vaccine era to approximately 400,000 cases per year as of 2005). In Europe most countries do not
Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) is a category of otherwise unrelated drugs defined by their use in rheumatoid arthritis to slow down disease progression. The term is often used in contrast to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (which refers to agents that treat the inflammation but not the underlying cause) and steroids (which blunt the immune response but are insufficient to slow down the progression of the disease). The term "antirheumatic" can be used in similar contexts, but without making a claim about an effect on the course. Other terms that have historically been used to refer to the same