Evidence of varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation in children with arterial ischemic stroke: Results of the VIPS II Study.
Heather J FullertonNancy K HillsMax WintermarkNomazulu DlaminiCatherine Amlie-LefondMichael M DowlingLori C JordanTimothy J BernardNeil R FriedmanMitchell S V ElkindCharles Grosenull nullPublished in: medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences (2024)
Serologic evidence of recent VZV reactivation (≈1-6 weeks prior to stroke) was present in one in 10 cases of childhood AIS, including those without arteriopathy. Clinically silent VZV reactivation may be a childhood stroke trigger despite widespread vaccination. These cases could represent waning immunity with reactivation of either vaccine virus or wild-type virus after an unrecognized secondary VZV infection.