Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021 Dec:113:55-57.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.09.055. Epub 2021 Sep 26.

A case of varicella zoster virus meningitis following BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in an immunocompetent patient

Taketomo Maruki  1 , Masahiro Ishikane  2 , Tetsuya Suzuki  1 , Mugen Ujiie  1 , Harutaka Katano  3 , Norio Ohmagari  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A case of varicella zoster virus meningitis following BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in an immunocompetent patient

Taketomo Maruki et al. Int J Infect Dis. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

We report a case of varicella zoster virus (VZV) meningitis following BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination in an immunocompetent patient. A final diagnosis was made based on identification of VZV via positive polymerase chain reaction of cerebrospinal fluid along with characteristic symptoms such as fever, headache, and stiff neck. This phenomenon has been reported elsewhere; this is the 13th such case reported worldwide and the 7th case in immunocompetent patients, indicating the need for careful monitoring after COVID-19 vaccines.

Keywords: BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Varicella zoster virus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest The authors state that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Vesicles and erythematous patches of varicella zoster virus infection. Skin lesions with crusting and vesiculation, and surrounding erythema (white arrow) affecting the abdomen (A) and back (B) in the Th10 dermatome.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bostan E, Yalici-Armagan B. Herpes zoster following inactivated COVID-19 vaccine: A coexistence or coincidence? J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021;20:1566–1567. - PubMed
    1. Chen G, Li X, Sun M, Zhou Y, Yin M, Zhao B, et al. COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are generally safe in the short term: A vaccine vigilance real-world study says. Front Immunol. 2021;12 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Furer V, Zisman D, Kibari A, Rimar D, Paran Y, Elkayam O. Herpes zoster following BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccination in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases: A case series. Rheumatology. keab345. Epub. 2021 Apr 13 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hayakawa K, Kutsuna S, Kawamata T, Sugiki Y, Nonaka C, Tanaka K, et al. SARS-CoV-2 infection among returnees on charter flights to Japan from Hubei, China: A report from National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Global Health Med. 2020;2(2):107–111. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan. Report of suspected adverse reactions of COVID-19 vaccine [cited 2021 Jun 23]. Available from: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/vaccine_hukuhannou-utag...

Publication types