Varicella vaccination elicits a humoral and cellular response in children with rheumatic diseases using immune suppressive treatment.

Objective: To assess humoral and cellular responses to live-attenuated varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccination of patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) or juvenile scleroderma (JScle) compared to those of healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Before, 4-6weeks and one year after VZV vaccination, blood samples of patients and HC were collected. VZV-specific antibody concentrations were measured by ELISA and multiplex immune-assay.