Early treatment with IV acyclovir is recommended for infants in this exposure category who develop varicella despite VZIG prophylaxis.
In the immunocompromised however, this viraemia may be prolonged or severe producing disseminated varicella which looks the same as primary chickenpox.
Infection from one week before to one week after delivery can lead to severe neonatal varicella.
In rare cases, an unborn child exposed to varicella zoster can be damaged or may be miscarried.
However, sometimes a test to identify the varicella virus is carried out.