Table 1.

VZV DNA- and Anti-VZV Antibody-based Detection of VZV Reactivation in ZSH

Detection situation	VZV DNA	Anti-VZV antibody
		Anti-VZV IgG	Anti-VZV IgM
Sample	CSF, serum, saliva	CSF, serum	CSF, serum
Detection method	Polymerase chain reaction	ELISA	ELISA
Advantage	High sensitivity	Convenient kit	Convenient kit, reflect early reactivation
Disadvantage	Could be false negative results for latent VZV reactivation	Could be false negative results for early VZV reactivation	Early antibodies, narrow time window for early VZV reactivation detection

VZV: varicella-zoster virus, ZSH: zoster sine herpete, IgG: immunoglobulin G, IgM: immunoglobulin M, CSF: cerebrospinal fluid, ELISA: enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.