Herpes zoster

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Abstract
What is herpes zoster and who gets it?Herpes zoster, or shingles, is the painful eruption of a rash, usually unilateral, caused by the varicella zoster virus. Varicella zoster virus usually persists asymptomatically in the dorsal root ganglia of anyone who has had chickenpox, reactivating from its dormant state in about 25% of people to travel along the sensory nerve fibres and cause vesicular lesions in the dermatome supplied by that nerve.Herpes zoster is more common in people with diminished cell mediated immunity. This includes elderly people, patients with lymphoma, those receiving chemotherapy or steroids, and people with HIV. In contrast to herpes simplex, precise triggers for herpes zoster are not known.