Herpes zoster arises from reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), causing varicella in children. As reactivation occurs when cell-mediated immunity (CMI) declines, and there is evidence that re-exposure to VZV boosts CMI, mass varicella immunization might increase the zoster burden, at least for some decades. Fear of this natural zoster boom is the main reason for the paralysis of var...

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a ubiquitous human alphaherpesvirus that causes varicella (chicken pox) and herpes zoster (shingles). Varicella is a common childhood illness, characterized by fever, viremia, and scattered vesicular lesions of the skin. As is characteristic of the alphaherpesviruses, VZV establishes latency in cells of the dorsal root ganglia. Herpes zoster, caused by VZV reacti...

Primary infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox (varicella) after which virus becomes latent in cranial nerve, dorsal root and autonomic ganglia along the entire neuraxis. Virus may later reactivate, causing shingles (zoster), characterized by pain and rash restricted to 1-3 dermatomes. More than 40% of zoster patients over age 60 develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), pain...

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) suppresses many aspects of cell-mediated immunity but it is uncertain whether solar UV exposure alters resistance to human infectious diseases. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes varicella (chickenpox) and can reactivate from latency to cause zoster (shingles). The monthly incidence of chickenpox and zoster in a defined Polish population over 2 years was recorded an...

BACKGROUND The association between liver cirrhosis (LC) and herpes zoster has rarely been studied. We investigated the hypothesis that LC, known as an immunodeficiency disease, may increase the risk of herpes zoster using a national health insurance database in Taiwan. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study cohort included cirrhotic patients between 1998 and 2005 (n = 4667), and a ratio of 1:5 rando...

Specific IgM varicella-zoster antibody was detected in "convalescent" sera from 20 out of 40 patients (50%) with herpes zoster infections. Since these were not primary infections with varicella-zoster virus, it seems that detection of IgM antibody specific for a particular virus may not differentiate a primary infection from secondary infections with that virus.

OBJECTIVES To quantify the effects of possible risk factors for herpes zoster at different ages. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink primary care data. PARTICIPANTS 144 959 adults diagnosed with zoster between 2000 and 2011; 549,336 age, sex, and practice matched controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Conditional logistic regression was used to generate ad...

OBJECTIVES Varicella and Herpes Zoster are common infectious diseases. Various studies have estimated rates of infection for both manifestations of these infections; however rates of hospital admissions across the country have not previously been described. This paper presents data on hospital admissions in England for Varicella and Herpes Zoster from 2001/2002 to 2010/2011. DESIGN Time trend...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Herpes zoster has a high incidence rate among people aged ≥ 60 years and can lead to serious complications such as post-herpetic neuralgia. There are currently no data on the economic burden of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in Japan, and the objective of this study was to address this gap. METHODS A total of 412 patients aged ≥ 60 years diagnosed with herp...

Review of literature revealed atleast 30 cases of post herpes zoster osteonecrosis of maxilla or mandible. To our knowledge this is a first reported case of Ramsay-Hunt syndrome with post herpetic neuralgia and post herpes zoster osteonecrosis of edentulous maxilla and mandible. We have briefly reviewed the pathophysiology and management of post herpes zoster osteonecrosis and post herpetic neu...