Immunization of the elderly and patients with collagen vascular diseases with live varicella vaccine and use of varicella skin antigen.

Elderly subjects and patients with collagen vascular diseases were immunized with a live varicella vaccine to assess the vaccine's potential for preventing herpes zoster. An improved varicella-zoster virus (VZV) skin test antigen was then used to assess cell-mediated immunity to VZV. The antigen was prepared from culture fluid of VZV-infected cells and had far less protein content than crude antigen prepared by sonication of infected cells. In 11 of 12 patients with ophthalmic zoster and 17 of 21 with dermal zoster, the skin reaction was negative at the beginning of the disease but became positive later. After two doses of VZV vaccine, 8 of 12 elderly subjects (greater than 60 years old) and 4 of 6 patients with collagen vascular diseases, who were VZV-skin test negative but purified protein derivative tuberculin test-positive, became VZV skin test-positive.