Chickenpox and shingles, a virus for two different diseases

“Do not scratch yourself, otherwise I’m going to put gloves on you!” Some children remember their chickenpox, the terrible itching it causes and the impossible parental orders. For many of them, this very common childhood illness left no trace or serious memory. But 50 years later, the varicella-zoster virus (VZV, for varicella-zoster virus) is remembered by 15 to 20% of French people in the form of shingles, sometimes synonymous with excruciating pain that can persist for years. How can a virus cause two different diseases? Decoding.

Atalamma

“It is consistent with the primary infection with VZV, P explains^R Nadine Attal is a neurologist at Ambroise-Pare Hospital (AP-HP) in Boulogne-Billancourt. In other words, chickenpox is a disease caused by a person being exposed to the virus for the first time. ” During the incubation period, for 10 to 21 days, the virus spreads throughout the body, after multiplication, …