All issues > Volume 51(12); 2008

Case Report

Korean J Pediatr. 2008;51(12):1368-1371. Published online December 15, 2008.

A case of herpes zoster in a 4-month-old infant

Ji Hyun JH Kim¹, Jung Ju JJ Lee¹, Sin Weon SW Yun¹, Soo Ahn SA Chae¹, In Seok IS Lim¹, Dong Keun DK Lee¹, Eung Sang ES Choi¹, Byoung Hoon BH Yoo¹

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence In Seok IS Lim ,Email: inseok@cau.ac.kr

Abstract

Herpes zoster in infancy is very rare but can be developed following intrauterine or postnatal exposure to varicella zoster virus. We report a case of herpes zoster in a 4-month-old male infant. He had no prior history of primary varicella or varicella vaccination. His mother had no history of varicella infection and no contact history with varicella during pregnancy. He had a history of exposure to his father with herpes zoster 3 months ago, and to his cousin with convalescent chickenpox 2 months ago. Multinucleated, giant cells were shown on a Tzanck smear. He was treated with acyclovir and first generation cephalosporin for herpes zoster with Staphylococcal skin infection, with complete resolution without sequelae.

Keywords :Herpes zoster, Infant