Antibodies to varicella-zoster virus in blood donors with genetic variance in CC chemokine receptor 5

Carriers of a 32 bp deletion (Δ32) allele of the CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) gene are reported to be more likely to lack antibodies to varicella-zoster virus than CCR5 wild-type individuals. To find out whether CCR5-Δ32 is associated with the seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus infection, we tested blood donors with different CCR5-Δ32 genotypes for varicella-zoster virus lgG. Antibody to varicella-zoster virus was present in 209 (99•5%) of 210 CCR5-Δ32 carriers and exactly the same proportion of CCR5 wild-type individuals (209 of 210). We have therefore found no evidence that the CCR5-Δ32 allele is associated with decreased seroprevalence of varicella-zoster virus infection.