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Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus (VZV). This painful and debilitating condition more often affects older patients after the antibody has waned but can also occur in children even after varicella vaccination. Introduction of VZV vaccination in children in 1995 has significantly decreased primary varicella infections, but what is the effect of the vaccine on HZ incidence? Investigators tested skin lesions of 322 children (age <18 years) with clinically diagnosed HZ identified in the Kaiser Permanente Northwest medical records from 2005 to 2009. Vaccine coverage in 24-month-olds during this period increased from 70% to 81%.
Skin lesions were tested for wild-type or vaccine-strain VZV by polymerase chain…