Herpes zoster in infants.

The author reported four cases of herpes zoster in infants without history of chickenpox but with positive history of maternal varicella either in the early life or during pregnancy. One of the infants had been in a close contact with his father who had varicella. Herpes zoster in infancy develops secondary to an asymptomatic foetal varicella zoster virus infection or to an unrecognized subclinical varicella in infants born to varicella zoster virus immune mothers.