Abstract
An 11-year-old girl presented with a papulovesicular rash and severe respiratory distress 5 weeks after receiving varicella vaccine. Restriction fragment length-polymorphism analysis of virus isolated from an endotracheal-tube aspirate and from bronchoalveolar lavage revealed that this patient's illness was due to the Oka vaccine strain of varicella. An extensive immunologic analysis failed to identify a known diagnostic entity to explain her susceptibility to this attenuated vaccine strain. Analysis of her lymphocytes on separate occasions, months after recovery from her illness, revealed a profound deficiency of natural killer T (NKT) cells and of NKT-cell activity, suggesting that NKT cells contribute to host defense against varicella virus.
Publication types
- Case Reports
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
MeSH terms
- Antigens, Viral / immunology
- Chickenpox Vaccine / adverse effects*
- Chickenpox Vaccine / therapeutic use
- Child
- DNA, Viral / chemistry
- DNA, Viral / genetics
- Female
- Herpes Zoster / immunology*
- Herpes Zoster / pathology
- Herpesvirus 3, Human / genetics
- Herpesvirus 3, Human / immunology*
- Humans
- Immune System / cytology
- Immune System / pathology
- Immunocompromised Host / immunology*
- Killer Cells, Natural / immunology*
- Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
- Vaccination / adverse effects*
- Vaccines, Attenuated / adverse effects
- Vaccines, Attenuated / therapeutic use
Substances
- Antigens, Viral
- Chickenpox Vaccine
- DNA, Viral
- Vaccines, Attenuated