Diagnosis of Chicken Pox
In initial days, chicken pox shows flu like symptoms but after that fluid filled blister develops on the skin. From emergence of Rashes, fluid filled blisters and from mild fever, you can identify chicken pox. In case of healthy children, even if they describe blister and other symptoms on phone Doctor can give treatment. Therefore person’s symptoms and clinical presentation are also useful to detect chicken pox.
Why diagnosis is necessary
- For each disease correct treatment is very necessary. This can be possible when causative agent is identified. Therefore to give effective and exact treatment viral testing is necessary.
- Sometime after completion of treatment or course some viral particles can remain in dormant stage in the body and it can create problem in future. Therefore by blood testing we can identify the presence or absence of virus.
- If patient need organ transplantation operation then before operation blood testing is done to check the availability of VZV.
- In pregnant woman, VZV testing is very necessary because there is danger of transmission of the infection to her baby.
- VZV testing is essential when you are in contact with the chicken pox patient. If you had chicken pox in your childhood then you will not get infection but if you didn't suffered in childhood then for prevention you can take VZV vaccine.
- Some people work in hospitals or day care centers, schools or places where they come in contact with many people.
There are different diagnosing test to identify availability of VZV virus. Information about some testes is given below.
Blood testing
When there is infection of Varicella zoster (VZV) our body gives immune response in terms of producing antibodies against VZV. If person get infected by virus in his childhood, most of the time does not face re-infection because of antibodies already present in the blood will resist re-infection of the virus. In blood testing, antibodies presence is checked to get information of earlier or latest VZV infection.
Virus recognition Virus recognition means identifying presence or absence of virus. There are different molecular techniques for detecting viral infection.
Varicella zoster virus culture
- Fluid filled vesicles are developed on the skin of a patient. Fluid vesicles contains virus.
- This fluid is used to culture or to grow the Varicella zoster virus in artificial medium containing all the nutrients required for growth of virus.
- This test is very exact and sensitive test.
- After full growth, these viruses are separated from culture and studied and identified under microscope.
- This test requires two days to get good result.
Varicella zoster DNA testing
- This is very accurate and sensitive method to detect viral infection.
- DNA or genetic material is collected from a patient's blood sample and identified and studied under microscope.
Direct Fluorescent Antibody (DFA)
- In this method blood sample of a patient is smeared on a slide.
- Fluorescent dye tagged antibodies are used to detect the virus in a sample.
- If, blood sample contains virus then fluorescent dye tagged antibodies will combined to the virus directly and that part will get fluorescent colour.
- If there is no infection then blood smear will not show any fluorescent colour.
- This test is very specific and precise. In short time we can identify presence or absence of virus.
