A case report of Herpes Zoster of the Trigeminal Ganglion after Coronavirus 2019 vaccination in a 22-year-Old male

ABSTRACT

Introduction@#Herpes zoster is an acute viral syndrome caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus from a previous infection. It is characterized by a painful, unilateral vesicular rash which is distributed over the territory of a dermatome. It is a significant global burden with the incidence very common in the Asia Pacific region. The frequency is closely related with increasing age and is the most common risk factor for reactivation of varicella-zoster virus. Herpes zoster does not often appear after administration of vaccination. But in the advent of increasing vaccinations for COVID-19, there have been reports of herpes zoster following COVID-19 vaccination.@*Case@#This is a case of a 22-year-old healthy male with a previous history of varicella-zoster virus infection during childhood who developed headache, unilateral vesicular rash over the territory of the left trigeminal nerve and left-sided facial pain and numbness. The patient had previously received the COVID-19 vaccine four days prior to the onset of symptoms. The diagnosis of herpes zoster was made on clinical grounds with no need for additional laboratory work-up to confirm the diagnosis. The patient was treated with herpes zoster antiviral therapy and analgesics where improvement of the patient’s condition was noted with eventual crusting of the lesions and without development of complications.@*Conclusion@#Herpes zoster is a common disease with a benign course in immunocompetent adults. There is a need for further studies to identify risk factors and explain the possible relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and the development of herpes zoster. Due to the increasing COVID-19 vaccination of the population worldwide, there is a possibility of an increase in the number of herpes zoster cases following COVID-19 vaccination.