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

Herpes zoster might be an indicator for latent COVID 19 infection

Mohamed L Elsaie  1 , Eman A Youssef  2 , Hesham A Nada  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Herpes zoster might be an indicator for latent COVID 19 infection

Mohamed L Elsaie et al. Dermatol Ther. 2020 Jul.

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Male patient presenting with multiple blisters on his right loin
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Female patient with blisters on her chest
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Female patient with zosteriform rash on her nape of the neck
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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