 What
is Shingles?
What is the shingles vaccine (Zostavax)?
Who should get the shingles vaccine?
 What is Shingles?
Shingles causes a rash with blisters that usually lasts for two to four weeks. The pain associated with
the blisters can be quite intense. Once this initial phase is over, nerve pain called postherpetic
neuralgia can set in. This pain lasts anywhere from 30 days to months or even years. It can be so
severe in some people that it disrupts their lives.
The illness is caused by varicella, the same virus that causes chickenpoxchickenpox. Shingles occurs
when the chickenpox virus lying dormant in nerve cells "wakes up" in older people or others with
health problems. The vaccine, Zostavax, is actually a boosted dose of the chickenpox vaccine currently
given to children.
Postherpetic neuralgia is more common in people older than 60. It occurs in less than 10% of people
younger than 60 after a bout of shingles but in more than 40% of people older than 60.
What is the shingles vaccine (Zostavax)?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed Zostavax, on May 25, 2006, a new vaccine to reduce the risk
of shingles (herpes zoster) for use in people 60 years of age and older. Zostavax, a live virus vaccine,
was shown to boost immunity against varicella-zoster virus. This is thought to be the mechanism by which
the vaccine protects against zoster and its complications. The vaccine is given as a single injection
under the skin, preferably in the upper arm.
Who should get the shingles vaccine?
The FDA says it is for those age 60 and older who are most at risk. As people age, it is possible for the virus to reappear in the form of shingles, which is estimated to
affect 2 in every 10 people in their lifetime. Half of all people who live to age 85 will get shingles
and endure a long period of misery. Today there is new hope for relief in the announcement of an
experimental vaccine that prevented about half of the cases of shingles and dramatically reduced its
severity and complications for those vaccinated.
|
