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Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease
caused by varicella-zoster virus. You can become infected through
contact with infected patients - by inhalation of infected droplets from
upper respiratory tract during coughing or sneezing or by direct contact
with varicella or herpes zoster lesions.
The incubation period varies from two to
three weeks. Chickenpox virus can easily transmit from the person incubating
even a few days before rashes appear. Infected persons continue to be
contagious until all crops of vesicles have crusted over.
Chickenpox is a highly contagious
disease
Humans are the only known carriers of
varicella zoster virus (chickenpox).
Chicken pox cases occur throughout the
year. But epidemics usually happen when carriers of the virus come into
close contact with many non-immune individuals (e.g. family, schools,
nursing homes, offices). That's why when someone in the family gets
chickenpox, he has a very high chance of infecting his family members.
Chickenpox Symptoms
In young children, chicken pox symptoms
include:
* fatigue
* headache
* fever
In adults, chicken pox symptoms are more
severe:
* irritability
* headache
* loss of appetite
* pain in the joints
* muscle pain
* a higher and prolonged fever
The total number of lesions comes up to
between 250 and 500. Adults usually have more and deeper lesions, and
have a greater risk of complications - about 10 to 25 times higher.
These symptoms usually occur 24 to 36
hours before the onset of rose-colored skin rashes. Depending on the
individual, these rashes cause either mild or intense pain and itching.
They appear prominently on the scalp, face, chest, back and abdomen.
Crusts from the lesions will fall off when dried up. This may happen one
to three weeks later, depending on the severity of the disease.
Possible complications of chickenpox
* skin bacterial infection
* pneumonia
* shingles (from reactivated latent
chickenpox virus)
* abortion and still-birth
When primary infection is delayed until
adult life, the illness can be severe resulting in pneumonia,
hemorrhagic varicella, encephalitis or visceral dissemination. Pneumonia
is the most common cause of death in adult cases.
Chickenpox is especially dangerous to
pregnant women as it is also associated with the risk of chicken pox in
the unborn fetus and newborn infants. Scarring is also an unwanted long
term consequence of chickenpox.
People at risk of chickenpox
Everyone is at risk - as long as you
are non-immune to the virus. Studies show an increase in cases occurring
among adolescents and adults for whom chickenpox is frequently more
severe with increased complications.
Chickenpox prevention
Keep an infected person isolated from
the moment the lesions appear till they are crusted. Unfortunately, the
chicken pox virus is already infectious one to two days before the rashes
appear. It is therefore very difficult to prevent the disease from
spreading.
An effective and long term way of
preventing chickenpox is through vaccination. You can protect yourself
against chickenpox by getting a course of chickenpox vaccination.
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