Varicella and herpes zoster: differences in antibody response revealed by the platelet aggregation technique.

Abstract

AbstractSera from 25 patients with herpes zoster, 8 patients with varicella and 124 healthy medical students were tested for varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antibodies by platelet aggregation (Pl.A.) and complement fixation (CF) techniques. The sera of 3 898 hospital patients were also tested for CF antibodies. All patients with herpes zoster showed high or moderate titers of both Pl.A.- and CF-reactive VZV antibodies. Four patients with uncomplicated varicella seroconverted with the CF technique but remained negative in the Pl.A. test Four other patients with post-varicella encephalitis developed antibodies that were detectable also by the Pl.A. method. Among sera of medical students 14.5–31% reacted in the Pl.A. test and only 4% in the CF test The highest percentage of CF-reactive antibodies in hospital patients was 7% in the age group 11–20 years. The low incidence of CF-reactive VZV antibodies in the population may reflect the nature of the antigen prepared in green monkey kidney cells. The findings with...