Herpes zoster might be an indicator for latent COVID 19 infection

Dermatol Ther. 2020 Jul;33(4):e13666. doi: 10.1111/dth.13666. Epub 2020 Jun 11.

Abstract

Various cutaneous manifestations have been observed in patients with COVID-19 infection. Herpes zoster is a viral skin disease caused by varicella zoster that remains dormant in the dorsal root ganglia of cutaneous nerves following a primary chicken pox infection. In this report, we describe two cases COVID infection who first presented with herpes zoster. We are here by suggesting that the clinical presentation of HZ at the time of the current pandemic even in patients giving mild or no suggestive history of upper respiratory symptoms should be considered as an alarming sign for a recent subclinical SARS CoV2 infection.

Keywords: COVID19; Herpes zoster; SARS CoV2; immune suppression; skin rash.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Antiviral Agents / therapeutic use
  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • Clinical Laboratory Techniques
  • Coinfection
  • Coronavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Herpes Zoster / diagnosis*
  • Herpes Zoster / drug therapy
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics
  • Pneumonia, Viral / diagnosis*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Virus Latency

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents