Thursday, May 13, 2010

Are there any know cases of one person getting herpes zoster from another?

I am aware that the virus that causes chicken pox is from the same family and is contagious.Are there any know cases of one person getting herpes zoster from another?
';Herpes zoster'; generally refers to shingles, the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus which causes chickenpox. A person must first have chickenpox at one point before being able to have shingles, as the virus remains latent in the ganglia of nerve cells until later in life when it flares up again, for whatever reason, be it stress, immunodeficiency, or what have you. I do not believe it to be contagious in the herpes zoster form as the actual virus is deep within the nerves.Are there any know cases of one person getting herpes zoster from another?
Herpes zoster isn't contagious. Run a search for it and check out a few websites about it. You say you're aware that the chicken pox virus is from the same family. You're half right. The same varicella virus causes both chicken pox and shingles. Not in the same family -- it's the same virus. Someone with an active outbreak of H. zoster can transmit the virus to anyone who hasn't already had chicken pox. That person will develop chicken pox, not shingles. Start that search now.





FYI: Herpes zoster doesn't ';generally refer to shingles';. Herpes zoster IS shingles.

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