Meningoradiculoneuritis due to acyclovir-resistant varicella-zoster virus in a patient with AIDS.

Colleagues—Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) has been recognized as one of the most frequent viral opportunistic infections in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The classic presentation of VZV infection in patients with AIDS is a multidermatomal zoster with or without dissemination. Persistent VZV infections with atypical cutaneous lesions have been recognized with increased frequency [1, 2]. Here we describe the case of an AIDS patient who developed meningoradiculoneuritis while on oral acyclovir given prophylactically at 400 mg twice daily for 8 months after several episodes of multidermatomal zoster. The virus isolated from skin lesions before the start of acyclovir prophylaxis was fully sensitive to acyclovir (isolate 1).