Korean J healthc assoc Infect Control Prev.  2019 Dec;24(2):103-107. 10.14192/kjicp.2019.24.2.103.

Two Cases of Chickenpox Developed from an Immunocompromised Patient with Localized Herpes Zoster

• Kim YC
• Han SH
• Choi JY
• Lee JH
• Kim JS
• Lee K

• KMID: 2467910
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14192/kjicp.2019.24.2.103

Abstract

Varicella zoster virus causes chickenpox, which is highly contagious, at primary infection and herpes zoster at reactivation. The varicella zoster virus may be more contagious and cause serious outbreaks in immunocompromised patients. There are some reports of outbreaks of chickenpox in patients with herpes zoster. Here, we describe a case of localized herpes zoster occurring in an immunocompromised patient during hospitalization in a specialized ward for immunocompromised patients. This episode resulted in two newly developed, hospital-acquired cases of chickenpox. If we had isolated the index patient who had localized herpes zoster immediately, the two cases of chickenpox could have been prevented. Therefore, patients with localized herpes zoster should be isolated in wards with immunocompromised patients.

Keyword

Chickenpox; Herpes zoster; Immunocompromised host

MeSH Terms

Chickenpox*
Disease Outbreaks
Herpes Zoster*
Herpesvirus 3, Human
Hospitalization
Humans
Immunocompromised Host*

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Histopathological examination of skin biopsy, taken from Case 2 patient, shows acantholysis and intranuclear inclusions at the infected cells (H&E=400×).

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  Fig. 2 Room arrangement of involved ward. The shade of each room shows nurses' duty. The dates indicate occurrences of hospital-acquired varicella after the development of skin lesion in index (Case 1) patient.

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