39. Which one of the following statement about the pathophysiology of herpes zoster is wrong?
(A) Herpes zoster most commonly manifests in the distribution of a single dorsal sensory or
cranial nerve ganglion.
(B) Why the reactivation of virus occurs in one ganglion when latent virus is present throughout
the patient’s sensory ganglia is clear.
(C) Declining cellular immunity is a major risk factor for reactivation of the virus, which is
thought to occur when cell-mediated immunity falls below a critical level.
(D) This impression is supported by evidence that even individuals with adequate levels of serum
antibodies to varicella-zoster virus (VZV) antigen can, over time, exhibit T cells with reduced
ability to proliferate and defend against VZV infections.
(E) Cell-mediated immunity appears to play a crucial role in preventing reactivation of latent
VZV.