Is shingles caused by the same virus as chickenpox?

Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. After you’ve had chickenpox, the virus lies inactive in nerve tissue near your spinal cord and brain. Years later, the virus may reactivate as shingles.

How can a virus like varicella that causes chicken pox go dormant and then show up later in life as shingles?

Once infected with VZV, the person develops antibody as well as cellular immunity to the virus. Cellular immunity, or T cell response, is thought to control the reemergence of the virus later in life. When it reactivates as shingles in healthy people, it spreads from the ganglia along the nerves to the skin.

How does varicella zoster virus cause chickenpox?

Varicella (chickenpox) is an acute infectious disease. It is caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which is a DNA virus that is a member of the herpesvirus group. After the primary infection, VZV stays in the body (in the sensory nerve ganglia) as a latent infection. Primary infection with VZV causes varicella.

Is shingles caused by a virus?

Shingles is caused by varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus that causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays dormant (inactive) in their body. The virus can reactivate later, causing shingles. Most people who develop shingles have only one episode during their lifetime.

Is varicella the same as chickenpox?

What is varicella-zoster? Varicella-zoster is a herpes virus that causes chickenpox, a common childhood illness. It is highly contagious. If an adult develops chickenpox, the illness may be more severe.

Can a person get shingles without having chicken pox?

Chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus. If you’ve never had chickenpox, you won’t get shingles from someone who has it —, but you could get chickenpox.

Is the chicken pox vaccine the same as the shingles vaccine?

Varicella-zoster vaccines are approved for children age 12 months and older to prevent chickenpox and for adults age 50 and older to prevent shingles, but the formulations are different, and the vaccines are not interchangeable.

Where does varicella zoster virus lie dormant?

The varicella zoster virus lies dormant in the cranial and spinal nerves. When the virus is reactivated, it travels along the affected nerves to the area of the skin served by those nerves, where it causes a distinctive, stripe-like rash.

Can you get shingles if you didn’t have chicken pox?