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Varicella Vaccine Meningitis as a Complication of Herpes Zoster in Twice-Immunized Immunocompetent Adolescents.

ABSTRACT: Varicella-zoster virus vaccination is recommended for virtually all young children in the United States, Canada, and several other countries. Varicella vaccine is a live attenuated virus that retains some of its neurotropic properties. Herpes zoster caused by vaccine virus still occurs in immunized children, although the rate is much lower than in children who had wild-type varicella. It was commonly thought that 2 varicella vaccinations would protect children against the most serious complication of meningitis following herpes zoster; however, 2 meningitis cases have already been published. We now report a third case of varicella vaccine meningitis and define risk factors shared by all 3 immunized adolescents. The diagnosis in cerebrospinal fluid in this third case was verified by amplifying and sequencing portions of the viral genome, to document fixed alleles found only in the vaccine strain. Viral antibody was also detected in the cerebrospinal fluid by confocal microscopy. When compared with the other 2 cases, remarkably all 3 were 14 years old when meningitis occurred. All 3 were treated with intravenous acyclovir, with complete recovery. The adolescent in our case report also had recurrent asthma, which was treated with both prednisone tablets and beclomethasone inhaler before onset of meningitis. When the 3 cases were considered together, they suggested that immunity to varicella-zoster virus may be waning sufficiently in some twice-immunized adolescents to make them vulnerable to varicella vaccine virus reactivation and subsequent meningitis. This complication rarely happens in children after wild-type varicella.

SUBMITTER: Ramachandran V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7549284 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Varicella Vaccine Meningitis as a Complication of Herpes Zoster in Twice-Immunized Immunocompetent Adolescents.

Ramachandran Veena V Elliott Stephen C SC Rogers Kathie L KL Cohrs Randall J RJ Weinberger Miles M Jackson Wallen W Carpenter John E JE Grose Charles C Bonthius Daniel J DJ

Journal of child neurology 20200717 13

Varicella-zoster virus vaccination is recommended for virtually all young children in the United States, Canada, and several other countries. Varicella vaccine is a live attenuated virus that retains some of its neurotropic properties. Herpes zoster caused by vaccine virus still occurs in immunized children, although the rate is much lower than in children who had wild-type varicella. It was commonly thought that 2 varicella vaccinations would protect children against the most serious complicati ...[more]

PMID: 32677551

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Project description:ObjectivesTo examine the reported incidence and features of disseminated varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection following live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine live (ZVL: Zostavax, Merck) in immunocompromised people in Australia.Design and settingZVL was funded in 2016 in Australia for people aged 70 years, with a catch-up programme for those 71-79 years. From 2016 to 2020, three deaths due to disseminated vaccine-strain VZV infection occurred following inadvertent ZVL administration in individuals with varying levels of immunocompromise. This descriptive study examined 4 years of national surveillance data reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration's Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS). Denominator data for rates were from doses recorded in the Australian Immunisation Register.ParticipantsIndividuals vaccinated between 1 November 2016 and 31 December 2020 who experienced adverse event(s) following immunisation (AEFI) after ZVL recorded in the AEMS.Primary and secondary outcome measuresRates and outcomes of confirmed (Oka strain positive) or probable disseminated VZV infection, and inadvertent administration of ZVL in immunocompromised individuals.Results854 AEFI were reported from 1 089 966 doses of ZVL administered (78.4 per 100 000 doses). Of those, 14 were classified as confirmed (n=6, 0.55 per 100 000) or probable (n=8) disseminated VZV infection. The confirmed cases were all hospitalised, and most (5/6) were immunocompromised; three cases died. Thirty-seven individuals were reported as vaccinated despite a contraindication due to immunocompromise (3.4 per 100 000), with 12/37 (32%) hospitalised.ConclusionsDisseminated VZV is potentially life-threatening and occurs mostly in those with severe immunocompromise. Inadvertent administration of ZVL to immunocompromised individuals has occurred despite initial provider guidance and education. Multiple additional strategies to assist providers to identify contraindications have been implemented to prevent adverse outcomes.

Dataset Information

Varicella Vaccine Meningitis as a Complication of Herpes Zoster in Twice-Immunized Immunocompetent Adolescents.

Publications

Varicella Vaccine Meningitis as a Complication of Herpes Zoster in Twice-Immunized Immunocompetent Adolescents.

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