Varicella-Zoster Virus Reactivation in AIDS Patient After Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

Cureus. 2021 Dec 3;13(12):e20145. doi: 10.7759/cureus.20145. eCollection 2021 Dec.ABSTRACTSince early 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of individuals and changed the face of medicine. As the fight against COVID continues, there is still unclear long term effects; although as time passes, more and more is being updated, in regards to the risks of exposure, length of recovery, outcomes of those infected, effectiveness of vaccines, and both expected and unique side effects of both the virus and vaccines, all in an array of individuals. This paper will review a unique topic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the abnormal immune response in a young patient. This case is unique due to the fact that there have been an abundance of side effects reported that are associated with the virus that affects every organ system, yet very few have affected the neurological and integumentary (skin) system. This case emphasizes the reactivation of a Herpes/Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) in a young male shortly after he received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The other interesting aspect about this case is the patient's immunocompromised state, as he was diagnosed with HIV several years before this viral reactivation occurred. The interesting aspect about this was trying to understand whether the VZV was truly reactivated because of an overly stressful immune reaction in response to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or was it mainly due to ...
Source: Herpes - Category: Infectious Diseases Authors: Source Type: research