The current SARS outbreak has taught health professionals that even a simple virus can mutate and become more deadly. That’s why the discovery of a new form of chicken pox, by a university of iowa health care researcher, could have a lasting effect on the health care industry.

When Charles Grose, M.D., UI Health Care pediatrician, first discovered a mutated form of the chicken pox virus, he knew there would be major implications on how the us manages the virus. And just like with the current SARS outbreak, it shows how unpredictable a virus can be when it mutates. The new chicken pox virus could present problems, if it were to spread:

"It has the qualities of being a more virulent virus. It grows faster in cell cultures — that’s one of the characteristics. So we would anticipate that if the virus were to spread, it would cause a more serious form of chicken pox," says Grose.

Grose hopes to develop a new test that will detect all known forms of chicken pox — including the new strain. Eventually, he hopes an improved vaccine can be created — one that could counter the effects of the mutated strain.

"Our current thought is that there are actually more viruses like this out there, but they’re probably in very small communities. Why they haven’t spread beyond that, we’re uncertain."

There are only two known cases of the mutant chicken pox virus — in Minnesota and Canada. UI researchers are working in both areas, hoping to learn more about the origins of this new virus. Grose and his research team sequenced the genes in the virus, identifying the one gene out of 70 that had mutated.