Chicken Pox: Varicella-Zoster- Its Epidemiology

If you have had chickenpox during your childhood, it is sure that the virus has stayed in your system for numerous of years. But the virus has then been reactivated in later life, and that’s what causes the skin disease called “Shingles,” to develop. As well as chickenpox, there are other diseases which weakens our immune system. For example, HIV and/or AIDS can also cause Shingles to develop. Shingles is not considered a life threatening virus, but can become quite painful. Shingles is an extraordinarily painful condition that involves inflammation of sensory nerves.

Chicken poxChickenpox  is a mild and common childhood illness that most children catch at some point.

Prior to reading the article I had an idea of what shingles was, and heard some information regarding the epidemic of shingles, but never knew exactly what it was. While reading the article I discovered that shingles is a viral infection caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which is actually the same virus that produces chickenpox that produces a painful skin rash within the host. Since shingles is a part of the herpes family it usually appears as a strip of blisters anywhere on the body.

Shingles is a skin disease that causes large rashes and blisters. The shingles virus normally comes after you have had the chicken pox. Once you have gotten the chicken pox the shingles virus is already inside of you. This doesn’t exactly mean that you will get shingles if you have had the chicken pox it just means you are more likely to get it. The correct name of the virus that gives shingles is varicella zoster virus this virus is the same for chicken pox. The shingle virus can stay dormant inside of someone for years but when it comes awake it will travel up nerves and whatever those nerves control is what will be affected. According to (The british skin foundation) “About 20% of people who have had chickenpox will have an attack of shingles

The name of the disease chosen is called shingles, however it has been known as zoster or herpes zoster in the past and occurs in approximately one in every three people in the United States (Kihei et al. 1993).

Very simple steps can be taken in order to prevent the virus, or stop it from spreading. Hand washing with hot soapy water is a must, especially if you believe you may have handled an infected surface. Most importantly, if you are not feeling well or believe you may have been infected, avoid preparing food for others and always make sure to stay home when you are sick to avoid giving it to others.

“In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not require state health departments to report infections of chickenpox, and only 31 states currently volunteer this information. However, in a 2013 study conducted by the social media disease surveillance tool called Sickweather, anecdotal reports of chickenpox infections on Facebook and Twitter were used to measure and rank states with the most infections per capita, with Maryland, Tennessee, and Illinois in the top three.” (8) Due to it contagiousness, Varicella can infect anyone in its path who have not received the vaccine. It is recommended by the CDC to get vaccinated. Although Varicella is not known as a deadly virus, it can be quite serious in those who have a weakened immune system. After being infected, individuals who were autoimmune compromised were more prone to developing serious complications such as bacterial infections of the skin lesions, pneumonia, encephalitis, and hepatitis. Any of these complications can lead to serious illness and in rare cases death. “Study results reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that more than 90 percent of American adults are immune to the chickenpox virus. Adults, however, are much more likely than children to suffer dangerous

Some common problems with the identification process exist because the virus can be transmitted in various different methods, which include fecal-oral routes, person-to-person contact and aerosolized. When there is a sharp increase in a certain number of cases at a point, it is safe to postulate that this is the point source for the infection. In the case of the outbreak on the college campus in Michigan the point source was the ill food service workers, which caused the public health professional to postulate that the spread of the virus was indeed foodborne. The last college campus, which was located in Wisconsin, demonstrated how close living quarters could cause the virus to spread, suggesting that the primary mode of transmission was person to person

Chicken Pox is a virus caused by varicella-zoster, a member of the herpes family. This same virus also is a cause of herpes zoster other known as shingles in adults. Chicken pox is very contagious and can easily spread to people. Chicken pox is acquired by coming into contact with the fluid of a chicken pox blister, or airborne by an infected person sneezing near you. The blister-like rash usually lasts five to ten days. The incubation period lasts 10-21 days and a person with chickenpox becomes contagious one to two days before their blisters appear. The person with chicken pox remains contagious until all the blisters have crusted

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is an exclusively human virus that belongs to the α-herpes virus family. The VZV present worldwide and is highly infectious. Primary infection leads to acute varicella or “chickenpox”, usually from exposure either through direct contact with a skin lesion or through airborne spread from respiratory droplets [2, 3]. After initial infection, VZV establishes lifelong latency in cranial nerve and dorsal root ganglia, and can reactivate years to decades later as herpes zoster (HZ) or “shingles” [4]. In addition, more than 90% of adults in the United States acquired the disease in childhood, while the majority of children and young adults have been vaccinated with the live virus vaccine [3, 5]. The increasing incidence

Standard precautions are set in place in order to prevent the transmission of infections from one individual to another. There are numerous ways in which infections can spread if standard precautions are not met:

The Varicella-Zoster virus causes a very infectious disease called Chickenpox. Chickenpox is usually acquired through the inhalation of airborne respiratory droplets from an infected host. Chickenpox is primarily acquired during childhood , with more than 90% of all reported cases occurring in children under the age of 10. A person with chickenpox can spread the virus without even showing any signs or symptoms. It is usually most easily transmitted two to three days before a rash appears and keeps that high transmission rate until the blisters have crusted over.

Chickenpox is a viral infection caused by the Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) transmitted via the respiratory route that causes itchy, blisters-like rashes usually lasting about 5-10 days. It is highly contagious transmitted by person to person contact (direct) from respiratory secretions or indirectly through contact with airborne respiratory droplets, via soiled inanimate objects infected by discharge from skin lesions, vesicle discharges or nasopharyngeal secretions. The incubation period lasts about 10-21 days and the disease is communicable 1-2 days

The first thing that a person must understand with chickenpox is how it is transmitted and how contagious it is. Chickenpox is caused by a simple virus called the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It is spread from person to person fairly easily once it is contracted. Chickenpox is an extremely contagious disease among those who have never been vaccinated for chickenpox or have never had chickenpox before. It can spread simply by coughing, sneezing, breathing in virus particles, or touching the blisters of an infected person. Occasionally chickenpox can be caught from someone who has shingles as well, because shingles and chickenpox are both caused by VZV. One difficult feature of chickenpox is a person is contagious one to two days before blisters even appear, therefore at that point they are

One of the many highly communicable diseases is chickenpox. This communicable disease is caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) which has a resemblance with the herpes virus. It can be transmitted in two ways, one through direct contact with the fluids from the blisters, mucus, or saliva and second through air where the virus is disseminated by coughing or sneezing. A person who has chickenpox can spread the virus even before he or she has any symptoms. Chickenpox is regarded as highly communicable for individuals who are exposed to the disease for the first time nor have been vaccinated against it. They have an 80% risk of