Severe Guillain–Barré syndrome following primary infection with varicella zoster virus in an adult

Abstract

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection may trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), but this is rare and almost always in the context of reactivation disease from latent VZV, 'shingles'. We report here a case of severe GBS following primary VZV infection in an adult. A 40-year-old man of Indian origin developed features of GBS including quadriplegia, bulbar paralysis, and bilateral facial nerve palsies 14 days after primary VZV infection contracted from a known case in a family member. Nerve conduction studies confirmed acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Anti-ganglioside antibodies were negative. The mechanism of Schwann cell attack following VZV infection is poorly understood but this case suggests that primary VZV infection may be a sufficient stimulus to drive antibody generation and precipitate severe clinical symptomatology. The morbidity associated with the complications of VZV infection in adulthood could be avoided if patients who are seronegative for VZV (frequently from the Asian subcontinent) are offered prophylaxis after an exposure in adulthood.