Molecular characterisation of varicella‐zoster virus strains in Germany and differentiation from the Oka vaccine strain

Abstract

With the introduction of varicella vaccination, surveillance of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) strains occurring in cases of chickenpox or zoster should be considered. Differentiating Oka vaccine strain from wild-type VZV can be achieved only using molecular genotyping. In the present study, the VZV genotype was examined in 53 VZV strains isolated from patients with varicella or zoster and in 73 samples from skin eruptions, cerebrospinal fluid, and throat swabs obtained from patients with VZV infections in Germany. The polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms analysis using DNA fragments of the open reading frames 38, 54, 62, and the R5 repeat region were used. Whereas all VZV isolates could be typed, direct genotyping of viral DNA in patients' samples was achieved in 63 of 73 cases (86.3%). The dominant genotype of VZV found in 88.8% of 116 patients had the wild-type pattern PstI(+) BglI(-) R5A followed by the wild-genotype PstI(+) BglI(+) R5A in 6.0%, the wild-genotype PstI(+) BglI(-) R5B in 3.4%, the wild-genotype PstI(+) BglI(-) R5C and the Oka vaccine genotype PstI(-) BglI(+) R5B in 0.9% of patients each. BglI(-) wild-types were found in 90.7% of patients with zoster and in 9.3% of patients with varicella. By contrast, the BglI(+) wild-type was diagnosed in five patients with varicella and in two patients with zoster. In conclusion, VZV strains found in Germany are similar to strains circulating in the United States and the United Kingdom. VZV wild-type strains containing a BglI restriction site in ORF 54 as well as Oka vaccine strains can rarely be detected.

Genetic Profile of an Oka Varicella Vaccine Virus Variant Isolated from an Infant with Zoster

“…The V-Oka vaccine preparations, including the two lots from the same manufacturer, did not contain identical vaccine SNPs. This is consistent with an earlier study showing that the number of R5 repeat regions in V-Oka strains varied from lot to lot (19). Together these findings suggest that the vaccine virus continues to change in culture or alternatively that the manufacturer has used different seed lot preparations for the vaccine.…”

“…: VA 212 A44B-1; GlaxoSmithKline) was used for this study. Two lots were analyzed: V-Oka-GSK-A2, produced in 1999 (19) and used to vaccinate the zoster patient, and V-Oka-GSK-A2, a separate lot produced in 1998. Both vaccine lots were propagated for two passages as described above in HELF.…”

Genotype of Varicella-Zoster Virus Isolates in South Korea

“…Postlicensure safety surveillance revealed 3,640 cases of vesicular rash (37.4/100,000 doses). The genotyping of VZV was useful to distinguish vaccine strains from wild strains (13,20). In earlier studies, vaccine strains were identified through restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the PstI restriction enzyme site in open reading frame (ORF) 38 and the BglI restriction enzyme site in ORF 54 (11 (14).…”

Sequencing of 21 Varicella-Zoster Virus Genomes Reveals Two Novel Genotypes and Evidence of Recombination

“…Early RFLP analyses revealed both interstrain variations among wild-type isolates and differences between wild-and vaccine-type viruses. The most commonly used RFLP markers of VZV included the polymorphism of open reading frames (ORFs) 38 (PstI), 54 (BglI), and 62 (SmaI) (19,23,45). These markers allowed the majority of wild-type strains in North America and Europe to be typed as PstI ϩ BglI Ϫ , whereas African and Asian strains were BglI ϩ and Japanese Oka-like wild-type strains were PstI ϩ /PstI Ϫ BglI ϩ SmaI Ϫ ; the Oka vaccine strains were PstI Ϫ BglI ϩ SmaI ϩ (20,40,47).…”