Nosocomial chickenpox (varicella) in health care staff at an infectious diseases unit]

To report cases of nosocomial chickenpox in medical staff at an infectious diseases unit in Abidjan.Four medical students, aged 24, 25, 27 and 30 years, all in contact with an index case at the infectious diseases unit and with one another, developed chickenpox. All had risk factors for chickenpox: no vaccination and no previous contact with the varicella zoster virus. The diagnosis was essentially clinical, and treatment was symptomatic and successful in all cases.Nosocomial chickenpox in non-immunocompromised adults illustrates the problems of lack of vaccination and poor hospital hygiene in resource-limited settings.