Immunogenicity of varicella-zoster virus vaccine by different routes of administration: Comparable vaccination efficacy of one-fifth dose intradermal vaccination to conventional subcutaneous vaccination.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The live attenuated varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine is used for the prevention of chickenpox and herpes zoster; however, there have been few studies on the immunogenicity of intradermal vaccination. OBJECTIVE: To compare the immunogenicity between subcutaneous and intradermal VZV vaccination. METHODS: Thirty healthy participants aged 50-75 who developed erythema less than 10 mm in diameter in VZV skin test were examined. Thirteen participants received full dose of VZV vaccine subcutaneously and 17 participants received one-fifth dose of vaccine intradermally. Immunogenicity to VZV was determined by VZV skin test reaction, proliferation of VZV-specific memory T cells, levels of VZV-specific serum antibody, and cytokine production from peripheral blood cells. RESULTS: VZV skin test reaction was similar between two groups. VZV-specific memory T cells were significantly increased only in the intradermal injection group. The increase of VZV-specific memory T cells correlated with Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokines and cytotoxic molecules. No serious adverse events were observed in either group after vaccination. CONCLUSION: Intradermal injection with one-fifth dose VZV vaccine showed a similar or greater effect on VZV-specific cellular immunostimulation than conventional subcutaneous injection. These findings suggest that one-fifth dose intradermal vaccination may have a comparable preventive effect to conventional subcutaneous injection.