Although varicella zoster virus is notorious for masquerading in various clinical presentations (eg, Guillain–Barré syndrome, Bell’s palsy or even without the shingles rash), it nevertheless remains a completely curable disease, provided the suspicion of the neurologist is raised.¹ To clinch the diagnosis requires access to possibly two laboratories, thereby adopting a dual approach to both antibody and antigen (lock and key)—namely, viral immunoglobulin G (IgG) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The recent …