부산대학교 도서관

Herpes zoster, caused by reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), is not commonly seen in children, especially in those under 2 years of age. We reported a case of a 23-month-old girl with herpes zoster. She had no personal history of chicken pox. She was immunized with the live attenuated varicella vaccine at 12 months of age. Nevertheless, she developed herpes zoster in the left thigh (L3-L4 dermatomes) around the immunization site 348 days after the varicella vaccination. Her clinical symptoms improved rapidly after acyclovir treatment. Based on the personal history and clinical presentation, it is possible that her herpes zoster was caused by the virus of varicella vaccine. The best way to identify wild-type or vaccine-strain VZV in a herpes zoster patient with a prior history of varicella vaccination is by viral genome detection using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). As previous studies indicate, vaccine-strain herpes zoster can occur after varicella vaccine. However, the incidence and symptoms of herpes zoster occur less often in vaccinated individuals than in unvaccinated ones. In general, varicella vaccine can prevent not only varicella but also herpes zoster. The preventive effect of two-dose varicella vaccination is better than that of one-dose vaccination.