Introduction: VZV is a human neurotropic alpha herpes virus, and humans are the only reservoir. Infection can involve any part of nervous system. The incidence neurological manifestations associated with 1-3 per 10,000 cases.
 clinical varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infections central system (CNS) include aseptic meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral infarction granulomatous vasculitis, myeliti...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection is restricted to humans, which hinders studies of its pathogenesis in rodent models of disease. To facilitate the study of VZV skin tropism, we developed an ex vivo system using human fetal skin organ culture (SOC). VZV replication was analyzed by plaque assay, transmission electron microscopy, and histology. The yield of infectious VZV from SOC increased ...

The varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes two diseases. The primary VZV infection, known as chickenpox, typically occurs during childhood. Herpes zoster infection results later in life from reactivation of VZV in the dorsal root ganglia. Herpes zoster characteristically results in a rash with a unilateral dermatomal distribution, which usually resolves within 2 to 4 weeks. If the infection does n...

Many countries are currently studying the possibility of mass vaccination against varicella. The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive picture of the pre-vaccine epidemiology of the varicella zoster virus (VZV) to aid in the design of immunization programs and to adequately measure the impact of vaccination. Population-based data including physician visit claims, sentinel surve...

Ramsay Hunt syndrome is characterized by varicella zoster virus infection affecting the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerve. It typically presents with vesicles in the external auditory canal associated with auricular pain and peripheral facial nerve paralysis. Although vestibulocochlear nerve is frequently co-involved during the course of Ramsay Hunt syndrome, multiple lower cranial nerve ...

Studies of varicella-zoster virus gene expression during latency require the acquisition of human ganglia at autopsy. Concerns have been raised that the virus might reactivate immediately after death. Because features of varicella-zoster virus latency are similar in primate and human ganglia, we examined virus gene expression in tissues either processed immediately or kept at 4°C for 30 h befor...

2 Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human alphaherpesvirus that infects sensory ganglia 3 and reactivates from latency to cause herpes zoster. VZV replication was examined in human 4 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) xenografts in mice with severe combined immunodeficiency using 5 multiscale correlative immunofluorescence and electron microscopy (IF-EM). These 6 experiments showed the presence of VZV g...

There are six herpes viruses, three of which, the varicella-zoster virus and the herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2, are of particular concern to patients and staff in critical care units. These viruses, especially in their reactivated states, may present atypically in critically ill and immune-suppressed patients, and, by the time the diagnosis is made, exposures of other patients and clinic...

We report the first laboratory-documented case of herpes zoster caused by the attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV) contained in Zostavax in a 68-year-old immunocompetent adult with strong evidence of prior wild-type VZV infection. The complete genome sequence of the isolate revealed that the strain carried 15 of 42 (36%) recognized varicella vaccine-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms...