title: Postvaricella acute transverse myelitis in a previously vaccinated child.
abstract: We describe a 14-year-old boy with acute transverse myelitis after breakthrough varicella infection, despite immunization with the Varicella zoster virus vaccine 8 years earlier. He recovered fully after treatment with intravenous corticosteroids and acyclovir. To our knowledge, there are no previously reported cases of postvaricella acute transverse myelitis in vaccinated individuals. Our report emphasizes that the Varicella zoster virus booster vaccine may be necessary to prevent not only acute varicella, but also its postinfectious neurologic complications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Kerri L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: LaRovere
authors.forename: G Praveen
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Raju
authors.forename: Mark P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Gorman
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009188:Myelitis, Transverse / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*; D014611:Vaccination / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D000212:Acyclovir