Children who are vaccinated against chicken pox also have an increased protection against shingles.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus responsible for these conditions is called Varicella zoster. After a person has chickenpox, this virus lives in the nerves and is never fully cleared from the body. To see if vaccination against chicken pox prevents children from developing shingles, researchers looked at the health records of 172,163 children in southern California who were vaccinated with the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine between 2002 and 2008.
Over an average of 2.5 years after receiving the chicken pox vaccine, only 122 cases of shingles (herpes zoster) occurred among the children, an estimated incidence of one case per 3,700 children per year. That rate is lower than what would be expected in unvaccinated children, according to the researchers.
The above findings indicate that vaccinating your child against the chicken pox reduces their chances of getting herpes zoster.
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus responsible for these conditions is called Varicella zoster. After a person has chickenpox, this virus lives in the nerves and is never fully cleared from the body. To see if vaccination against chicken pox prevents children from developing shingles, researchers looked at the health records of 172,163 children in southern California who were vaccinated with the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine between 2002 and 2008.
Over an average of 2.5 years after receiving the chicken pox vaccine, only 122 cases of shingles (herpes zoster) occurred among the children, an estimated incidence of one case per 3,700 children per year. That rate is lower than what would be expected in unvaccinated children, according to the researchers.
The above findings indicate that vaccinating your child against the chicken pox reduces their chances of getting herpes zoster.