seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus in children from shiraz-iran

background: varicella–zoster virus (vzv) causes herpes zoster and varicella (chicken-pox), usually a mild disease which is diagnosed clinically with few complications. however, in neonates and healthy adults it can have a severe presentation. herpes zoster results from vzv reactivation later in life. objective: to determine the seroprevalence of vzv in elementary school children aged 6-10 years in shiraz, iran. methods: a cross-sectional seroprevalence survey was conducted on 270 healthy subjects. all serum samples were investigated for immunoglobulin g (igg) antibody against vzv using a commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (elisa). results: among the studied population, 175 (64.8%) had no detectable antibody levels. the overall seroprevalence rate was 35.2%. a breakdown of seropositivity to vzv according to age was as follows; 10 years old, 50%, 9 years old, 48.2%, 8 years old, 27.3%, 7 years old, 32.1%, and 6 years old, 13.2%. conclusion: as vzv susceptibility in the studied age groups was higher than the expected rate, therefore childhood vzv vaccination is recommended in our region.