Herpes zoster in a 4-month-old infant.

Herpes zoster is caused by reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) from the dorsal sensory ganglia or the cranial nerve ganglia after a previous primary infection with chickenpox. It is known that pediatric zoster rarely occurs and usually not so severe when it develops, except in immunocompromised children 1) . In particular, herpes zoster in infancy is very rare but can be developed following intrauterine or postnatal exposure to VZV 2, 3) . To our knowledge, there were only 5 cases of infantile herpes zoster reported in Korea 4-8) . We describe an uncommon case of herpes zoster in a 4month-old infant, not following symptomatic varicella infection. In addition, we also review the literature on herpes zoster in infants reported in Korea.