Open AccessEpstein-Barr virus reactivation after COVID-19 vaccination in a young immunocompetent man: a case report
Author(s) -
Astrid Herzum,
Ilaria Trave,
Federica D’Agostino,
Martina Burlando,
Emanuele Cozzani,
Aurora Parodi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
clinical and experimental vaccine research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 2287-366X
pISSN - 2287-3651
DOI - 10.7774/cevr.2022.11.2.222
Subject(s) - medicine , vaccination , rash , covid-19 , virology , virus , immune system , immunology , coronavirus , disease , dermatology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology
We present the case of a 24-year-old Caucasian man, who developed a scaly erythematous skin rash after the second dose of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination with Comirnaty (BNT162b2, BioNTech/Pfizer; Pfizer, New York, NY, USA) and proved positive for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccines have been associated with an up-regulated T helper type 1-cell response, possibly favoring an immune system imbalance. Also, EBV reactivation has been postulated after COVID-19 vaccination, but only in the immunosuppressed. Noteworthy we report the first case of EBV viral reactivation associated with cutaneous manifestations in an immunocompetent patient after the COVID-19 vaccine.