PEDIATRICS Vol. 37 No. 6 June 1966, pp. 1007-1009
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On the Respiratory Spread of Varicella-Zoster Virus

Audrey M. Nelson M.D.1 and Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. M.D.2

1 Department of Pediatrics University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
2 Associate Professor Departments of Pediatrics, Microbiology, and Laboratory Medicine University of Minnesota Medical School Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Encouraged by certain epidemiologic observations of the pre-eruptive transmission of varicella-zoster virus, an extensive search for oropharyngeal virus was conducted in 29 children with chickenpox. The procurement of 45 respiratory tract samplings, preceding and following the onset of vesicular rash, failed to yield varicella-zoster virus in a single instance. Some theoretical explanations for the perplexing elusiveness of varicella-zoster virus in the oropharynx are offerred and discussed.