(Specimen Container)
Serum Separator Tube (SST)
(Transport Temperature)
Gross hemolysis
Grossly lipemic
Grossly icteric
Separate serum from cells within 45 minutes of venipuncture.
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), a herpes virus, causes 2 exanthematous (rash-associated) diseases, chickenpox and herpes zoster (shingles). Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease usually contracted during childhood and is characterized by a dermal vesiculopustular rash that develops in successive crops. Although primary infection results in immunity to subsequent exposure to chickenpox, the virus remains latent in the body, localized to the dorsal root or cranial nerve ganglia. Reactivation of latent infection manifests as herpes zoster. On reactivation, the virus migrates along neural pathways to the skin, producing a unilateral rash usually limited to a single dermatome. Reactivation occurs in older adults and in patients with impaired cellular immunity.
≤ 1 Index
