Is the disease “Shingles” related to having had Chicken Pox as a child ?
YES to your first question, and NO to your second question. GOOD NEWS if you had chickenpox and worry about getting shingles . The first vaccine to prevent shingles, Merck’s Zostavax, has been approved in the USA for adults aged 60 or more. Shingles develops when the virus that causes chickenpox, varicella-zoster, is reactivated. After a childhood bout of chicken pox, the virus lays dormant for many years, ready to come into action when the carrier’s immune system weakens, either through age or illness. Anyone who has ever had chickenpox is susceptible to developing shingles later on in life. 90% of humans get chickenpox. Of the approximately one million people in the USA who get shingles each year, nearly half are over 60. There are 50 million Americans over the age of 60. According to data so far, the vaccine offers protection for at least four years. Some wonder whether it may just postpone shingles, rather than prevent it completely. Merck has to conduct a long-term follow-up study
