Detection of varicella-zoster virus nucleic acids in peripheral lymphocytes from patients with herpes zoster

Abstract

We analyzed varicella-zoster virus (VZV) DNA and RNA of gene 29 and gene 62 by PCR and RT-PCR, respectively, in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 10 patients with herpes zoster who were admitted to Sapporo Medical University Hospital and treated by vidarabin (600 mg/day for 5 days). Among the 10 patients, 3 severe and one intermediate cases had a high titer (128 fold) by the complement fixation test and their blood lymphocytes contained VZV DNA and RNA. However, viral nucleic acids were not detectable on the 7th to 10th days after admission in any of the cases. These results showed that nucleic acids of VZV were detectable in patients with severe and intermediate herpes zoster in the early phase of the disease with a high titer on the complement fixation test and that 5-day-treatment by vidarabin might be effective for clearance of the virus.