EnzymeimmunoassayforthequalitativedeterminationofIgAclassantibodies
againstVaricellaZostervirusinhumanserumorplasma(citrate,heparin).Varicella-ZosterVirus(humanherpesvirus3,HHV-3)belongstothea-subfamilyofherpesviridae.Thevirusparticlesmeasureabout145nmindiameter.TheyconsistofdoublestrandedDNA,aresurroundedbyan
icosahedralproteincapsidandanenvelopewhichcontainsbothhostcellsandviralcomponents.Thevirusisusuallytransmittedinrespiratorysecretions,andasingleSEROtypecausesvaricella(Chickenpox),ahighlyinfectiouschildhooddisease,andzoster(shingles),aneurodermicdisease;bothdiseasesarefoundworldwide.Varicellaistheacutediseasewhichfollowsprimarycontactwiththevirus,whereaszosteristheresponseofthepartiallyimmunehosttoareactivationofthevaricellaviruspresentinthebodyinlatentform.Varicellaisendemic,mostcommonlyaffectedarechildrenbetween2and6yearsofage.Thecourseofdiseaseisusuallymildandcomplicatedonlyinimmunocompromisedchildren.Rarefatalcasesshowmultiplenecroticlesionsinbrain,lung(varicellapneumonia),kidneys(hemorrhagicnephritis),spleen,bonemarrow,andoccasionallyintheintestinaltract.Thelethalityofvaricellaisbelow0.1%.Intheinfrequentadultinfectionsthediseaseismoresevere,andcomplicationsaretobeexpectedinabout5%ofallcases.Zosterisoflowincidenceandappearswithincreasingfrequencyandseveritywithadvancingage.Usuallytheprocessremainslocalized,generalizationisfrequentlyencounteredinastateofimmunosuppression.Fatalcasesareveryrareandnearlyalwayscausedbyanunderlyingdisease.