Vaccine to Prevent Shingles

What the news means for you Kristy S. Deep, MD Internal Medicine &AdvAnces Insights August 31, 2008 Vaccine may help prevent shingles in people over 60 Millions of older Americans who suffered through chicken pox as children now find themselves... More

What the news means for you Kristy S. Deep, MD Internal Medicine &AdvAnces Insights August 31, 2008 Vaccine may help prevent shingles in people over 60 Millions of older Americans who suffered through chicken pox as children now find themselves at risk of a sometimes debilitating complication of the disease – herpes zoster, also known as shingles. This painful nerve inflammation, accompanied by a skin rash, is caused by the chicken pox virus, varicella zoster. The virus lies dormant in collections of nerve cells for decades after a bout of chicken pox and can be reactivated later in life as a person’s immunity dips, causing shingles. In May 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) approved the first vaccine intended to reduce the risk of shingles in people 60 or older. The vaccine, called Zostavax™ , is a version of the chicken pox vaccine, which was developed in 1995 for children. Only someone who has had a case of chicken pox Less