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MICROBIOLOGY
ESSAY 1
DUE 01/26/12
CAROLYN GARDNER-FINNEGAN
DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EYE: SHINGLES/Latent Varicella-Zoster Virus
Latent: present and capable of emerging or developing, but not now visible, obvious or active
or symptomatic (something that lays dormant for a time then reemerges later)
Varicella: chicken pox
infectious disease
Zoster : shingles
Virus: microorganism that causes an
The main symptoms of Shingles are areas of intense itching, stinging and painful burning
sensations. The second obvious symptom is an area with a red rash that turns into blisters,
usually appearing on only one side of the body, often around the waist. Shingles can also show
on the face, upper chest or on the person’s back.
Other symptoms include abdominal pain, difficulty moving facial muscles, chills, drooping
eyelid, fever, an overall ill feeling, headache, genital lesions, hearing loss, joint pain, loss of eye
motion, swollen lymph glands and taste or vision problems.
Shingles is caused by the Chicken Pox Virus also known as Herpes Simplex Virus-1. This strain
of the Herpes Virus 1 is passed mostly by oral and respiratory means (coughing, sneezing,
sharing drinks) and most people are infected with the virus during childhood. After a bout with
chickenpox, the virus lays dormant in the person’s body in the dorsal root ganglion in the spine.
Years later, the virus reactivates, follows the peripheral nerve and affects the corresponding
tissues (called the dermatome) on the body.
People most susceptible to developing Shingles are those were exposed to Chicken Pox
before the age of 1, people older than 60, and those whose immune system has been
weakened by drug therapy, disease or simply age. Very few people under the age of 20
develop Shingles, though exposing children to someone with Shingles often leads to those
children then developing Chickenpox.
Scientists and researchers who study the diagnostic identification of antibodies say that about
90% of the population in the U.S. has been infected with Herpes Simplex Virus 1 or
(Chickenpox). Prevention would be difficult as the virus is so prevalent, but a Chicken Pox
immunization is available, though immunologists now recommend a booster shot as the
vaccines’s strength lessens over time.
Effective treatments should include anti viral medications prescribed by a doctor as soon as
symptoms appear to lessen the severity and duration of Shingles. In 1995 a live vaccine was
developed to prevent Shingles outbreak. Adults that are 60 years of age and older are
encouraged to have the vaccine even if they have had Chickenpox or Shingles before.