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Why Do People Get Herpes Zoster?

Herpes zoster is a secondary condition of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is the virus that causes chickenpox. The virus goes latent within certain cells of the body and may reappear years or decades later and causes herpes zoster, also known as shingles.

  1. Primary Infection

    • Primary infection with VZV causes chickenpox. After the symptoms of chickenpox clear, VZV goes dormant in nerve cells in the body and does not cause further symptoms until a later flare-up. Everyone who has had chickenpox might go on to one day develop shingles.

    Reoccurence

    • Shingles occurs years or decades after a person has had chickenpox; it may occur in children if they had chickenpox before the age of one. According to the Mayo Clinic, an outbreak of shingles is most common in older adults who have weakened immune systems.

    Possible Causes

    • It is not known exactly why shingles occurs when it does. However, age and suppressed immune system health seem to affect shingles. HIV-positive people and people undergoing steroid, radiation and chemotherapy treatments are especially at risk, according to the Mayo Clinic.

    Later Exposure

    • If a person contracts VZV later in life, the Mayo Clinic reports that this person will develop chickenpox, not shingles. It is possible for someone with shingles to spread VZV to someone who has never had chickenpox (though not to someone who already has), and people with shingles should not have physical contact with anyone who has been exposed previously to VZV.

    Prevention/Solution

    • The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recently recommended that adults over the age of sixty be vaccinated to avoid shingles. The antiviral drugs acyclovir, valacyclovir and famciclovir are also used to treat the symptoms of shingles. No treatment can purge the system of the virus, and it is possible for shingles to recur.

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