Prevalence of anti-varicella zoster IgG antibody in undergraduate students.

Sera from 74 healthy Thai undergraduate students, mean age 21 + 1.7 years, were tested for the presence of IgG antibody against varicella zoster virus (anti-VZV IgG) by ELISA. Fifty-five of 74 (74.3%) individuals possessed anti-VZV IgG antibody. The presence of anti-VZV IgG was associated with a past history of varicella (p < 0.005, X2 = 33.4989). No sexual preponderance was observed. We therefore found that 1 of 4 Thai young adults was susceptible to VZV infection.