Varicella and herpes zoster: a perspective and overview

The events leading to the isolation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) are described beginning with the pioneering contributions of Ernest Tyzzer and Ernest Goodpasture and the early epidemiologic observations that indicated a relationship between varicella and zoster. Isolation, propagation, and immunologic proof of the coidentity of the viruses from the two clinical entities evolved from the introduction of human cell culture systems, a development that revolutionized virus research. Now the social significance of VZV is increasing. This reflects an aging population, increasing use of immunosuppressive therapeutic procedures, and the advent of a biologic immunosuppressive agent, the virus that causes AIDS. Currently there are unsolved problems: For unknown reasons varicella is often an adult disease in the tropics, and cell cultures fail to demonstrate VZV in throat washings from cases. These peculiarities warrant elucidation.