ABSTRACT
Sixteen infants in our intensive care nursery (ICN) were inadvertently exposed to
an adult who presented the next day with chickenpox. Since a majority of the patients
were extremely premature, we were concerned that they might not have received transplacental
varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antibody, and consequently would be at risk for contracting
chickenpox. Serum samples were obtained from each infant and examined for the presence
or absence of VZV antibody. Fourteen of the 16 infants had antibody levels equal to
or in excess of 1:16 by indirect fluorescent antibody, including six of eight infants
with birthweights equal to or less than 1000 gm, and eight of ten infants with gestational
ages equal to or less than 28 weeks. Passive transfer of immunity to VZV appears to
be common in infants as young as 24 to 28 weeks' gestation.
