Herpes Zoster in Immunosuppressed Patients

Herpes zoster (HZ) is a disease caused by the activation of the virus in the latent phase. The name of the virus is varicella-zoster virus (VZV). This virus remains in the dorsal root ganglia, the collection of neuronal cell bodies. It is known as reactivation because it is a secondary infection. The main or the old infection is chickenpox; it generally occurs in the early stages of life. This secondary infection is caused in the later stages of life in old age patients; if the patient is immunocompromised, this type of infection can cause death or make the patient unconscious. But in the world, many people have a variety of standard or uncommon signs and symptoms of this disease based on their body, diet, area, or even genetic features.

This Herpes Zoster acts on the immune response called cell-mediated immunity and decreases it rapidly with the advance of age of the person. In the coming years, the incidences of this disease are gradually increasing because of the weakening of the immune system. The incidences also happened in people with defective immunity of cell-mediated type or due to the abuse of certain drugs.

The herpes zoster is caused to the immunosuppressed patient more quickly than the average population. As there is no immune system to defend the body, some secondary infections can also be induced in these conditions and lead to death. This multiple infection can make a differential diagnosis.

This review explains and understands the herpes zoster virus causing different complications in the body and other clinical things related to immunocompromised patients.