Clinical symptoms and molecular epidemiologic characteristics of varicella patients among children and adults in Ganzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is highly transmissible; however, there are limited studies in China.

Methods: The clinical symptoms, disease progression, and laboratory test results of varicella patients among children and adults diagnosed at Ganzhou Fifth People's Hospital from August 2021 to December 2022 were analysed retrospectively. Genetic polymorphisms in the open reading frame (ORF) 22 and ORF62 fragments of VZV isolates were analysed using molecular epidemiological methods.

Results: Thirty-nine varicella patients were included in this study, 26 of them were children and 13 of them were adults. The incidence of discomfort and complications was significantly greater in adults than in children (P < 0.05). Four adults developed severe disease, one of whom died, with no cases of severe disease or death among children. The 32 VZV clinical isolates were all Clade 2 wild-type strains. Four variant isolates from children had eight base mutations, five of which were missense; two variant isolates from adults had four base mutations, all of which were missense.

Conclusions: The risk of developing severe disease or even death after VZV infection in adults was greater than that in children. There is an urgent need for more studies focusing on the differences in the pathogenicity of VZV in different age groups.