Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nosocomial transmission of varicella to a healthcare provider positive for anti-varicella zoster virus antibodies: nonprotective positivity with an immune adherence hemagglutination assay

  • Case Report
  • Published:
Journal of Infection and Chemotherapy

Abstract

A 24-year-old male healthcare provider, having attended a varicella patient 2 weeks before, developed varicella himself. He had shown a positive result for anti-VZV antibodies measured with an immune adherence hemagglutination assay (1:4) 1 year before. The present case shows that a positive result with this assay does not necessarily indicate protection against VZV infection.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Japanese Society of Environmental Infections. Vaccination guideline for nosocomial infection control (in Japanese). Kankyokansen 2009; 24 Suppl.

  2. Hambleton S, Gershon AA. Preventing varicella-zoster disease. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2005;18:70–80.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Heininger U, Seward JF. Varicella. Lancet. 2006;368:1365–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevention of varicella: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2007; 56(RR-4):1–40.

  5. Tunbridge AJ, Breuer J, Jeffery KJM. Chickenpox in adults—clinical management. J Infect. 2008;57:95–102.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Terada K, Niizuma T, Daimon Y, Kataoka N, Niki Y. Comparison of positivity rates for antibodies against measles, rubella, chickenpox and mumps by assays (in Japanese). Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2000;74:670–4.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Asari S, Deguchi M, Tahara K, Taniike M, Toyokawa M, Nishi I, Watanabe M, Iwatani Y, Makimoto K. Seroprevalence survey of measles, rubella, varicella, and mumps antibodies in health care workers and evaluation of a vaccination program in a tertiary care hospital in Japan. Am J Infect Control. 2003;31:157–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Hatakeyama S, Moriya K, Itoyama S, Nukui Y, Uchida M, Shintani Y, Morisawa Y, Kimura S. Prevalence of measles, rubella, mumps, and varicella antibodies among healthcare workers in Japan. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2004;25:591–4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Tashiro T, Urata H, Okada J, Iwanaga K, Tokunaga M, Matsumoto T. Vaccination against rubella, measles, chickenpox, and mumps in nursing students (in Japanese). Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2004;78:398–403.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Kukino J, Naito T, Mitsuhashi K, Oshima H, Sekiya S, Isonuma H, Watanabe K, Dambara T, Hayashida Y. Susceptibility of medical students to vaccine-preventable viral diseases: a serological study. J Infect Chemother. 2004;10:335–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Shiraishi T, Nakagawa M, Nakagawa Y, Tominaga M, Yoshitani S. Study of the antibodies against measles, rubella, mumps and varicella-zoster viruses in sera from the medical staffs (in Japanese). Kansenshogaku Zasshi. 2005;79:322–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Taya K. Vaccination for the health care providers (in Japanese). Sogoiryo. 2004;53:1886–90.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Ihara T. Recent trends in infection control measures against measles, rubella, varicella, and mumps in the hospital and the community (in Japanese). Iryo. 2006;60:483–8.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Hawrami K, Breuer J. Development of a fluorogenic polymerase chain reaction assay (TaqMan) for the detection and quantitation of varicella zoster virus. J Virol Methods. 1999;79:33–40.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Hermann KL, Erdman DD. Diagnosis by serological assays. In: Lennette EH, Lennette DA, Lennette ET, editors. Diagnostic procedures for viral, rickettsial, and chlamydial infections. 7th ed. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 1995. p. 121–38.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Kalter AG, Steinberg S, Gershon AA. Immune adherence hemagglutination: further observations on demonstration of antibody to varicella-zoster virus. J Infect Dis. 1977;135:1010–3.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Gillani A, Spence L. Immune adherence hemagglutination test applied to the study of herpes simplex and varicella-zoster virus infections. J Clin Microbiol. 1978;7:114–7.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Forghani B, Schmidt NJ, Dennis J. Antibody assays for varicella-zoster virus: comparison of enzyme immunoassay with neutralization, immune adherence hemagglutination, and complement fixation. J Clin Microbiol. 1978;8:545–52.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Yamada A, Ogino S, Asano Y, Otsuka T, Takahashi M, Baba K, Yabuuchi H. Comparison of 4 serological tests—complement fixation, neutralization, fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen and immune adherence hemagglutination—for assay of antibody to varicella-zoster virus. Biken J. 1979;22:55–60.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Behrman A, Schmid DS, Crivaro A, Watson B. A cluster of primary varicella cases among healthcare workers with false-positive varicella zoster virus titers. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2003;24:202–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Prof. John A. Tokarz for his assistance in preparing this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases, Tsukuba University Hospital, 2-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8576, Japan

    Shigemi Hitomi & Hiroshi Koganemaru

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan

    Toyoichiro Kudo

  3. Department of Nursing, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Japan

    Norimasa Tsutsumi

Authors
  1. Shigemi Hitomi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Toyoichiro Kudo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroshi Koganemaru
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Norimasa Tsutsumi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shigemi Hitomi.

About this article

Cite this article

Hitomi, S., Kudo, T., Koganemaru, H. et al. Nosocomial transmission of varicella to a healthcare provider positive for anti-varicella zoster virus antibodies: nonprotective positivity with an immune adherence hemagglutination assay. J Infect Chemother 17, 710–712 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-011-0236-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10156-011-0236-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation