Fatal wild-type varicella-zoster virus encephalitis without a rash in a vaccinated child.

Encephalitis associated with varicella-zoster virus, rare among children in the varicella vaccine era, has generally been associated with a rash. We report fatal wild-type varicella-zoster virus encephalitis without a rash in a child who had received 1 dose of varicella vaccine. Varicella-zoster virus encephalitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis for children presenting with acute neurologic symptoms, even vaccine recipients.