Poll: Your Original Antigenic Sin (Early Childhood Infections)

[Tammy]

Just a comment. I just saw this poll. I wanted to point out that shingles is caused by varicella zoster reactivation in people who previously have had chickenpox or the. chickenpox (a live vaccine

I've known people (myself included) where this just doesn't apply. I'm not quite sure why the medical establishment is still standing by this claim?

 

[valentinelynx]

I've known people (myself included) where this just doesn't apply. I'm not quite sure why the medical establishment is still standing by this claim?

Sorry, I'm not following. What doesn't apply? Shingles is caused by varicella virus; that's not debatable. Primary infection with chickenpox is disseminated throughout the body. It travels from the skin lesions to the dorsal root ganglia in the spinal cord, where it remain. Reactivation due to stress or immunocompromise can cause the virus to migrate to the nerve endings and cause a painful skin rash. The reactivation is typically in a single dorsal root ganglion, which explains why the shingles pain and rash usually occupies a single dermatome. The live varicella vaccine can also result in shingles; that's what happened to me. What's the controversy?

 

[Tammy]

What's the controversy?

IN previous post you wrote "Shingles is caused by varicella zoster reactivation in people who have had previous chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine (a live vaccine).

I've never had chickenpox nor the vaccine.............................yet I still got shingles.

Have I misinterpreted something?

 

[SWAlexander]

yet I still got shingles

Me too.

 

[valentinelynx]

IN previous post you wrote "Shingles is caused by varicella zoster reactivation in people who have had previous chickenpox or the chickenpox vaccine (a live vaccine).

I've never had chickenpox nor the vaccine.............................yet I still got shingles.

Have I misinterpreted something?

Well, to get shingles, you would have to have been exposed to the varicella zoster virus at some point. A quick look at the literature tells me that asymptomatic or extremely mild cases of primary varicella infection are considered rare, but do occur in children. It's even possible for a fetus to be exposed in utero if the mom is infected and then get shingles very early in childhood.

 

[SWAlexander]

I looked at my vaccination pass (Germany) and found out that I was vaccinated for smallpox only. I have no recollection that I had chickenpox as a child, but I had shingles (first time at age 15).

 

[Pyrrhus]

I looked at my vaccination pass (Germany) and found out that I was vaccinated for smallpox only. I have no recollection that I had chickenpox as a child, but I had shingles (first time at age 15).

I found your comment from another thread, about your Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS) diagnosis, very interesting:

I never had a polio vaccine.
Last month I finally found a doctor who diagnosed me with PPS.
Symptoms started at age 5 after I was for nearly 4 weeks sick with a high fever.

 

[wastwater]

Haemophilis influenzae (bacterial)and over reaction to viruses and Alice In wonderland syndrome
Maybe due to complement C3 inactivator deficiency leading to activated C5

 

[SWAlexander]

Alice In wonderland syndrome

No (AIWS). All my body parts look okay to me. Don´t remember having kidney problems or glomerulonephritis.

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Contemplating my Mother's situation. (and how it might have affected me as a baby)

My mother tested positive for TB. Anyone ever considered this one?

And I can't ask my Mom more questions. The story as I understood it: she tested positive, which mean she had it at some point. (she would have been ten around 1933).

She was: way too "thin".

She was sent to some special camp for TB children (when, I do not know).

So what affect would TB possibly have on my mother's immune system?

(and me, I got set up with a dysfunctional immune system it seems).

Curious: anyone else have any Tuberculosis story?

 

[Strawberry]

I was tested as being exposed, but no active TB. Still took antibiotics for at least a year. I’ve wondered about that link also. I think I was age 10 too.

 

[SWAlexander]

Saliva antibody-fingerprint of reactivated latent viruses after mild/asymptomatic COVID-19 is unique in patients with myalgic-encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome


Abstract

Background: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a chronic disease considered to be triggered by viral infections in a majority of cases. Symptoms overlap largely with those of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19/long-COVID implying common pathogenetic mechanisms. SARS-CoV-2 infection is risk factor for sustained latent virus reactivation that may account for the symptoms of post-viral fatigue syndromes. The aim of this study was first to investigate whether patients with ME/CFS and healthy donors (HDs) differed in their antibody response to mild/asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. Secondly, to analyze whether COVID-19 imposes latent virus reactivation in the cohorts.

Methods: Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were analyzed in plasma and saliva from non-vaccinated ME/CFS (n=95) and HDs (n=110) using soluble multiplex immunoassay. Reactivation of human herpesviruses 1-6 (HSV1, HSV2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV6), and human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) was detected by anti-viral antibody fingerprints in saliva.

Results: At 3-6 months after mild/asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, virus-specific antibodies in saliva were substantially induced signifying a strong reactivation of latent viruses (EBV, HHV6 and HERV-K) in both cohorts. In patients with ME/CFS, antibody responses were significantly stronger, in particular EBV-encoded nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1) IgG were elevated in patients with ME/CFS, but not in HDs. EBV-VCA IgG was also elevated at baseline prior to SARS-infection in patients compared to HDs.

Conclusion: Our results denote an altered and chronically aroused anti-viral profile against latent viruses in ME/CFS. SARS-CoV-2 infection even in its mild/asymptomatic form is a potent trigger for reactivation of latent herpesviruses (EBV, HHV6) and endogenous retroviruses (HERV-K), as detected by antibody fingerprints locally in the oral mucosa (saliva samples). This has not been shown before because the antibody elevation is not detected systemically in the circulation/plasma.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36341457/

COVID-19; EBV; HERV; HHV6A; ME/CFS; herpesvirus reactivation; latent virus; myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

 

[Anchoress]

being ill is not a sin. Please do not misuse that word in that way.it is deeply offensive