Detection and Characterisation of Varicella Zoster Virus From Dermal Lesions of Chickenpox-infected Patients

"The following samples were obtained from each subject:~* Vesicle fluid (VF) and vesicle swabs (VS) from four vesicles (for a total of eight samples)~* Papule swabs (PS) from four papules~* Crusts from two lesions~* One throat swab (TS) Up to 15 samples were to be obtained for each subject, when possible. VFs, VSs, PSs, and crusts were either stored dry or in liquid medium. TS samples were stored in liquid medium.~After extraction of DNA, samples were tested for the presence of varicella virus using a Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (Q-PCR) technique."