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Viruses
Volume 14
Issue 7
10.3390/v14071438
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Article

Silent Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus in Pregnancy: Implications for Maintenance of Immunity to Varicella

by
Mirella Mourad
1,
Michael Gershon
2,
Satish K. Mehta
3,
Brian E. Crucian
4,
Nicole Hubbard
5,
Jing Zhang
6 and
Anne Gershon
7,*
1
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
2
Department of Pathology, Columbia University Vagelos College of P&S, New York, NY 10032, USA
3
JES Tech, Human Health and Performance Directorate, Houston, TX 77058, USA
4
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center, Human Health and Performance Directorate, Houston, TX 77058, USA
5
Infectious Disease Pathology, ProMedica Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH 43614, USA
6
Department of Pathology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
7
Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Viruses 2022, 14(7), 1438; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071438
Submission received: 11 May 2022 / Revised: 1 June 2022 / Accepted: 22 June 2022 / Published: 30 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue A Meeting of Minds: In Recognition of the Contributions of Randall J. Cohrs)
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

We encountered two cases of varicella occurring in newborn infants. Because the time between birth and the onset of the illness was much shorter than the varicella incubation period, the cases suggested that the infection was maternally acquired, despite the fact that neither mother experienced clinical zoster. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that VZV frequently reactivates asymptomatically in late pregnancy. The appearance of DNA-encoding VZV genes in saliva was used as an indicator of reactivation. Saliva was collected from 5 women in the first and 14 women in the third trimesters of pregnancy and analyzed at two different sites, at one using nested PCR and at the other using quantitative PCR (qPCR). No VZV DNA was detected at either site in the saliva of women during the first trimester; however, VZV DNA was detected in the majority of samples of saliva (11/12 examined by nested PCR; 7/10 examined by qPCR) during the third trimester. These observations suggest that VZV reactivation occurs commonly during the third trimester of pregnancy. It is possible that this phenomenon, which remains in most patients below the clinical threshold, provides an endogenous boost to immunity and, thus, is beneficial.
Keywords: VZV; reactivation; latency; saliva; salivary VZV DNA VZV; reactivation; latency; saliva; salivary VZV DNA

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mourad, M.; Gershon, M.; Mehta, S.K.; Crucian, B.E.; Hubbard, N.; Zhang, J.; Gershon, A. Silent Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus in Pregnancy: Implications for Maintenance of Immunity to Varicella. Viruses 2022, 14, 1438. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071438

AMA Style

Mourad M, Gershon M, Mehta SK, Crucian BE, Hubbard N, Zhang J, Gershon A. Silent Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus in Pregnancy: Implications for Maintenance of Immunity to Varicella. Viruses. 2022; 14(7):1438. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071438

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mourad, Mirella, Michael Gershon, Satish K. Mehta, Brian E. Crucian, Nicole Hubbard, Jing Zhang, and Anne Gershon. 2022. "Silent Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus in Pregnancy: Implications for Maintenance of Immunity to Varicella" Viruses 14, no. 7: 1438. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071438

APA Style

Mourad, M., Gershon, M., Mehta, S. K., Crucian, B. E., Hubbard, N., Zhang, J., & Gershon, A. (2022). Silent Reactivation of Varicella Zoster Virus in Pregnancy: Implications for Maintenance of Immunity to Varicella. Viruses, 14(7), 1438. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14071438

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