Abstract

LIBORIO NETO, AO. HERPES ZOSTER IN AN IMMUNOCOMPETENT SCHOOL AGE PATIENT: THE CONTROVERTED DIAGNOSIS IN PEDIATRICS. Rev. argent. dermatol. [online]. 2018, vol.99, n.3, pp.81-90.  Epub Sep 30, 2018. ISSN 1851-300X.

Varicela (chickenpox) and herpes zoster are diseases caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The primary infection is usually observed in children under 10 years old and results in chickenpox. However, the reactivation of VZV in the cranial nerves and / or in the dorsal spinal root ganglia causes herpes zoster (HZ), but this reactivation of VZV is usually triggered after primary varicella infection, mainly in older adults (> 60 years old) and immunocompromised. HZ is rare in childhood with an incidence that varies from 0.2 to 0.74 cases per 1,000 persons / year in children under the age of ten. Thus, a case of herpes zoster is described in a 7 year old immunocompetent boy with lush presentation of skin lesions.

Keywords : herpes zoster; child; varicella-zoster virus; childhood.