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Background Varicella is typically mild and self-limiting, but can be associated with complications and even death. The limited data available on varicella in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) indicate substantial burden in countries where varicella vaccine is not part of publicly funded childhood national immunization programs. Methods A systematic literature review of published studies was complemented by “gray” literature on varicella incidence, complications, mortality, and economic consequences, in the absence and presence of universal varicella vaccination (UVV) in LAC. Results Seroprevalence data indicate that varicella is usually a disease of childhood in LAC. Varicella incidence rates, while unreliable in the absence of mandatory reporting, show a trend to increased incidence due to greater urbanization and population density. The introduction of UVV in national immunization programs has led to significant reductions in varicella incidence in these areas. Conclusions Varicella continues to pose a substantial healthcare burden in LAC. The future introduction of UVV in additional countries is predicted to provide substantial reductions in cases, with important economic benefits. For countries that have already implemented UVV, the challenge is to maintain high rates of coverage and, where relevant, consider inclusion of a second dose to reduce breakthrough cases. Given the significant proportion of the region now implementing UVV, a regional recommendation in order to prevent any potential for age-shifts in varicella infection might be considered. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6795-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pertussis is a serious respiratory disease in infants that can also affect children and adults. Vaccination against pertussis was introduced in the 1950s and in the 1990s a resurgence of pertussis was observed worldwide. The aim of this work is to summarize the recent data concerning pertussis disease in different countries of Latin America. In this geographic region, pertussis is nationally notifiable and cases should be reported to the appropriate health department/Ministry. Though the surveillance systems are not the same among Latin America countries, over recent decades an increasing number of cases have been detected. Most of these cases correspond to patients younger than 6 months old who received fewer than three doses of vaccine. However, cases in adolescent and adults have also been detected. For this situation, which is not peculiar to Latin America countries, several explanations have been proposed.