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Before vaccination was implemented in 1995 to prevent varicella (commonly known as chickenpox), diagnosis of this infection was simply based on examining the rash, which was easily distinguishable from other childhood rashes based on the simultaneous presence of three phases — vesicles, pustules, and crusts — and the radial spread. Things have changed.
Researchers at the Minnesota Department of Health assessed the accuracy of clinical diagnosis in 420 patients with suspected varicella (median age, 5 years) from 2016 to 2023 as compared with laboratory diagnosis using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for varicella-zoster virus (VZV), herpes simplex viruses (HSV) types 1 and 2, and enterovirus. During this period, the percentage of labo…