Causes

        The varicella zoster virus causes a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. This virus is called the Varicella zoster virus and belongs to the herpes family of viruses. After an individual has chickenpox, this virus lives dormant in the nervous system and is never fully cleared from the body. Under certain circumstances, such as emotional stress, immune deficiency, or with cancer, the virus reactivates and causes shingles. In most cases of shingles, however, a cause for the reactivation of the virus is never found. Anyone who has ever had chickenpox is at risk for the development of shingles, although it occurs most commonly in people over the age of 60. It has been estimated that up to 1,000,000 cases of shingles occur each year in the U.S. The herpes virus that causes shingles and chickenpox is not the same as the herpes viruses that causes genital herpes or herpes mouth sores. Shingles is medically termed as Herpes zoster.

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Chickenpox is a common childhood skin disease caused by a viral infection. The virus involved is called the varicella-zoster virus. Today, chickenpox is less common in the United States due to universal vaccination with the varicella virus vaccine, though it still occurs in  populations that are not routinely vaccinated. Varicella-zoster virus is often categorized with the other common so-called "viral exanthems" such as measles, German measles, fifth disease, mumps virus, and roseola, but these viruses are unrelated except for their tendency to cause rashes.
By Anthony DeFillippo

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