ABSTRACT
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is one of the eight herpesviruses of humans. Once thought to be a poxvirus, it was first isolated in cell culture in the 1950s by Weller and his colleagues.1-4 When the virus was identified, it was recognized to be a herpesvirus, but the name ‘chickenpox’ for the primary infection remained unaltered. In normal hosts, chickenpox or varicella is usually a mild illness with a generalized rash lasting about 5 days, often accompanied by fever and malaise. The rash is characteristically pruritic and begins as maculopapular lesions that progress within a few days to vesicles, pustules, and crusts. Skin lesions are most concentrated on the face, head, and trunk. During varicella, VZV infects nerve endings in the skin. It is hypothesized that the virus travels centrally through the axons to sensory ganglia, where latent infection develops. Usually, in healthy hosts, latent virus persists asymptomatically for decades; however, in about 15% of individuals, reactivation of latent virus manifests itself as zoster.
