Chicken Pox
- This is a preview of the essay.
To view the full text you must login!
Chicken pox is an infection that is caused by the Varicella-Zoster Virus (VZV) that is part of the overall herpes virus family. VZV spreads in nasal discharge and in fluid from inside the chicken pox blisters. Chicken pox is very contagious, and 90% of people who are not immune will catch it when they are exposed. Epidemics are most common in the late winter and early spring, and children between ages 5 and 9 account for half of all cases. Normally, chicken pox is a mild illness, but it can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, and serious bacterial infections of chicken pox blisters. After causing an attack of chicken pox, VZV remains in the body. It lies dormant in nerve cells and may be reactivated later in life to cause shingles.
During the last 10 years, there have been major advances in the understanding of varicella-zoster virus and the diseases it causes. The molecular biology of the virus is being unraveled with the aid of new molecular technologies. Varicella, usually a benign manifestation of primary infection, and zoster, a result of reactivation of latent virus, can cause considerable morbidity in patients with immune impairment...