Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Development of an IFN-γ ELISpot Assay to Assess Varicella-Zoster Virus-specific Cell-mediated Immunity Following Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation
Published on: July 9, 2014
Later onset of herpes zoster-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome
E Espinosa1, A Peña-Jiménez, C E Ormsby
1Centre for Infectious Diseases Research, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias Ismael Cosío Villegas, Mexico City 4502, 14080 Mexico. reyesteran@cieni.org.mx
Objectives:
The aim of the study was to determine whether immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) associated with herpes zoster occurs on a different time frame from other instances of IRIS.
Methods:
Statistical analysis of onset times of herpes zoster-associated IRIS and other cases of IRIS was carried out in a retrospective cohort starting antiretroviral therapy at advanced stages of HIV infection.
Results:
Herpes zoster-associated IRIS was significantly more frequent after the first 3 months of successful highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), than other instances of IRIS (IRIS associated with tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, Kaposi's sarcoma, etc.) which mainly occurred during the first 3 months of treatment.
Conclusions:
The characteristic onset time pattern of herpes zoster-associated IRIS, coincident with the second phase of immune recovery under HAART, suggests that the immune recovery events underlying herpes zoster-associated IRIS are different from those underlying other types of IRIS. Our findings may be useful in improving the follow-up of individuals who start HAART at an advanced stage of HIV infection.
Related Concept Videos
Chickenpox
Hypersensitivity Reactions: Immune-Complex Reactions
Genital Herpes
Hypersensitivity Reactions: Delayed Hypersensitivity Reactions
Herpes
Immunodeficiency Diseases
There are three main causes of immunodeficiency disorders...
