[Results of virostatic treatment of varicella with various severity]

Chickenpox is the result of primary infection with the varicella zoster virus (VZV), which--like other herpes-viruses--has the ability to remain latent within the nervous system; reactivation then sometimes causes shingles many decades later. While chickenpox is benign in normal children, infection in the immunocompromised patient is characterized by a period of prolonged viral replication, delayed healing and a high frequency of extracutaneous manifestations, such as pneumonitis and involvement of the nervous system. Therefore, current therapeutic research efforts have focused on both the prevention of VZV infections through the development of a live, attenuated vaccine and improved therapeutic modalities. The existing antiviral drug acyclovir has been shown to be effective in reducing severe complications in risk groups. It has been generally accepted that the varicella vaccine is useful in immunocompromised children with acute leukaemia or solid malignant tumours. Healthy seronegative siblings will also benefit from the varicella vaccine. In addition, zoster hyperimmunoglobulin has also been shown to provide protection against primary VCV infection in the incubation period. Preventive and therapeutic efforts should mean that varicella will soon no larger be a medical problem even for immunocompromised patients.