Correction: Mortality Rate in Varicella Infection with Malignancy as a Comorbidity

Excerpt

To the Editor: I was quite pleased to see the article on varicella-zoster virus infections (1). Not only did this review provide a comprehensive synthesis of the current understanding of varicella-zoster immunology and molecular biology, but it also provided a much needed reminder that this virus is not as benign as we frequently think.

However, some of the epidemiologic statistics were either misinterpreted or else inadequately referenced. Specifically, the authors state that "Adults with an underlying malignancy, who acquire varicella infection, may have a mortality rate as high as 50%." Because this rate seemed high, I consulted the article cited