Case Report: A Case Report: Chickenpox Acquired Through Surface Contamination: A Rare Clincal Observation

Chickenpox is an extremely contagious disease caused by a primary varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection. This case report describes a rare transmission of chickenpox potentially linked to an indirect route via surface contamination rather than direct person-to-person contact. A 27-year-old adult Black African male health care worker presented with severe headache, intermittent weakness and inability to walk, intermittent nausea, fever, shortness of breath, itching, pruritus, lesions with pus on the skin, sleep disturbances, and nightmares for two days. In this case report, the patient's face, neck, and scapulae were the most infected areas of the body, and the rest of the body, except the legs, hands, genital areas, and buttocks, was also highly infected. Chickenpox was confirmed by positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR), positive IgM, viral culture, and low IgG. Acyclovir 800 mg orally, five times a day, was given for ten days to treat chickenpox infection because acyclovir inhibits varicella zoster virus replication. It is typically unable to eradicate VZV from the latent state in neurons. The patient showed marked improvement within a week and fully recovered without complications or post-herpetic sequelae. This case emphasizes the importance of strict infection control and hygiene protocols in preventing rare indirect transmission of the VZV, particularly in healthcare settings.