Why is Chicken Pox Contagious, but not Shingles?
Chicken pox and shingles are caused by the same virus, varicella zoster, commonly known as herpes zoster . Initial infection with this particular virus, creates the condition known as chicken pox. Symptoms of chicken pox typically last two weeks or less dependent upon the efficiency of the individual immune system. However, while the majority of immune systems are capable of fighting this infection, it is common for the virus to remain in a state of dormancy, undetected, as the virus is not completely eliminated by the immune system. This dormancy period is random and can last from weeks to years dependent upon many environmental and genetic factors. The re-activation of the varicella zoster virus from this state of dormancy is known as shingles.
