Chickenpox virus name

& Sciences Department of Biology • • About • Message from the Chair • Faculty • Research Associates & Postdocs • Staff • Graduate Students • Administration • Offices & Centers • Diversity & Inclusion • Outreach • History • Job Openings • About Bloomington • Undergraduate • Biology • Biotechnology • Microbiology • Molecular Life Sciences • Research & Teaching Opportunities • Honors Program • Advising • Awards & Scholarships • Student Experience • Graduate & Professional Program Preparation • Career Preparation • Graduate • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior Ph.D. • Genome, Cell, and Developmental Biology Ph.D. • Microbiology Ph.D. • Biotechnology M.S. • Multidisciplinary & Affiliated Programs • Advising • Financial Support • Awards & Fellowships • Career Preparation • How to Apply • Life Assistance • Research • Research Faculty • Associated Research Faculty • Research Strengths • Centers, Instrumentation, & Resources • Faculty Awards • News & Events • Seminars • Discussion Groups & Journal Clubs • Named Lectures • Newsletters • Annual Microbiology Retreat • News • Events • Alumni & Giving • I became painfully aware of the virus that causes chickenpox a few years ago when my husband developed shingles soon after starting a stressful job. The virus that causes both chickenpox and shingles, varicella-zoster, is only known to Varicella-zoster, the virus depicted in this illustration, causes both chickenpox in children and shingles in adults. Photo by Roger Harris/Science Photo Li...

Chickenpox is a very contagious infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It mainly affects kids, but adults can get it, too. The telltale sign of chickenpox is a super-itchy skin rash with red blisters. Over the course of several days, the blisters pop and start to leak. Then they crust and scab over before finally healing. Symptoms appear within 10 to 21 days after you’ve been in contact with someone who has the virus. Most people recover in about 2 weeks. Chickenpox is generally mild, especially in children. But in severe cases, the blisters can spread to your nose, mouth, eyes, and even genitals. Who Gets It? Children under age 2 are most at risk for chickenpox. In fact, 90% of all cases occur in young children. But older kids and adults can get it, too. You’re more at risk for chickenpox if you: • Haven’t had the virus before • Haven’t been vaccinated for it • Work in a school or child care facility • Live with children How Is It Spread? Very easily. You can get the virus by breathing in particles that come from chickenpox blisters or by touching something on which the particles landed. Chickenpox is most contagious from 1 to 2 days before the rash appears until all the blisters are dried and crusted. The best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to get the Complications Adults have a higher risk for developing complications from chickenpox than children. Those with weakened immune systems due to Once you’ve had chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus stays ...

Varicella-zoster, the virus depicted in this illustration, causes both chickenpox in children and shingles in adults. Shingles is known in medical terms as herpes zoster. Both “zoster” and “shingles” derive from words for belt or girdle in Chickenpox is primarily a childhood disease Chickenpox is spread by inhalation, and children are infectious a few days before In healthy children, chickenpox lasts about a week and goes away without medical intervention. But it can be more severe in adolescents, adults and people with compromised immune systems. Infection with chickenpox typically provides Shingles mostly affects older adults Even after the chickenpox blisters are gone, the varicella-zoster virus is not. The viruses travel to nerve root clusters Over the course of a person’s life, the viruses may reactivate, but usually the immune system eliminates the active viruses before they can appear as shingles. However, as the immune system weakens with age, or as a result of illness or stress, reactivated viruses can travel back along the nerves and erupt again as painful blisters. Typically, only one nerve-root cluster is involved, and the blisters appear in the area of the skin supplied by those nerves. This leads to the classic Although even children can develop shingles, the risk of that happening and the severity of the disease increases sharply after the age of 50. The CDC estimates that 1 in 3 people in the U.S. Varicella-zoster has a long, slow evolutionary history Unlik...