Viro Perspectives
Learn more on the topic of Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) via our ongoing series of clinical posts by David Kilpatrick, PhD and Abbas Vafai, PhD.
INTRODUCTION: One of the consequences of the SAR-CoV-2 infections over the last year has been a large increase in reactivation of herpes viruses. There are numerous reports of COVID-19 patients with suspected reactivation of several different herpes viruses, including human herpes virus 1 and 2 (HSV 1/2), varicella zoster virus (VZV), human herpes virus-6 and […]
INTRODUCTION: Over the last six decades, there has been a steady increase in the number of herpes zoster (HZ, shingles) cases in the United States, including among younger adults. A 2013 study (Hales et al1) found that rates of shingles have been climbing since the mid-1940s in all age groups. From 1945 to 1949, 0.76 […]
INTRODUCTION: Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox, an acute viral, vesicular, exanthematous illness. After primary infection, VZV often becomes latent in ganglionic neurons, without production of viral proteins or infectious particles. In recent years, there have been numerous reports of children vaccinated with the live attenuated vaccine virus strain VZV vOka coming down with herpes zoster […]