How are chickenpox and shingles elated?
Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus. After a person has had chickenpox, the virus stays in the body permanently. About 10% – 20% of all people who have been infected with chickenpox later develop the disease known as herpes zoster or shingles. Symptoms of shingles are pain, itching, blisters, and loss of feeling along a nerve. Most cases occur in persons older than 50, and the risk of developing shingles increases with age. When did the chickenpox vaccine become available? The chickenpox (varicella) vaccine was licensed for use in Japan and Korea in 1988 and in the United States in 1995. In 2005, a combination vaccine containing live attenuated measles-mumps-rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine was licensed for use in persons age 12 months through age 12 years. What kind of vaccine is it? The chickenpox vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine. This means the live, disease-producing virus was modified, or weakened, in the laboratory to produce an organism that can gro
