The Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is one of the eight herpes viruses known to affect humans (and other vertebrates). Image File history File links Chickenpox-virus. ... Virus classification involves naming and placing viruses into a taxonomic system. ... A DNA virus is a virus that has DNA as its genetic material and does not use an RNA intermediate during replication. ... Genera Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae    Simplexvirus    Varicellovirus    Mardivirus    Iltovirus Subfamily Betaherpesvirinae    Cytomegalovirus    Muromegalovirus    Roseolovirus Subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae    Lymphocryptovirus    Rhadinovirus Unassigned    Ictalurivirus The Herpesviridae are a family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. ... {{{subdivision_ranks}}} Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae Alphaherpesvirinae is a subfamily of Herpesviridae primarily distinguished by reproducing more quickly than other subfamilies of Herpesviridae. ... Genera Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae    Simplexvirus    Varicellovirus    Mardivirus    Iltovirus Subfamily Betaherpesvirinae    Cytomegalovirus    Muromegalovirus    Roseolovirus Subfamily Gammaherpesvirinae    Lymphocryptovirus    Rhadinovirus Unassigned    Ictalurivirus The Herpesviridae are a family of DNA viruses that cause diseases in humans and animals. ...

Nomenclature

Multiple names are used to refer to same virus, creating some confusion. Varicella virus, zoster virus, human herpes 3 (HHV-3), and Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) all refer to the same viral pathogen. The disease caused by this pathogen is called chickenpox or Varicella disease during the initial infection. A reactivation of the infection is commonly called shingles, herpes zoster or simply zoster. Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation of varicella zoster virus, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. ...

Human disease

Primary VZV infection results in chickenpox (varicella), which may rarely result in complications including VZV encephalitis or pneumonia. Even when clinical symptoms of varicella have resolved, VZV remains dormant in the nervous system of the host in the trigeminal and dorsal root ganglia. In about 10-20% of cases, VZV reactivates later in life producing a disease known as herpes zoster or shingles. Serious complications of shingles include post-herpetic neuralgia, zoster multiplex, myelitis, herpes ophthalmicus, or zoster sine herpete. Chickenpox, also spelled chicken pox, is the common name for Varicella zoster, classically one of the childhood infectious diseases caught and survived by almost every child. ... Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain, commonly caused by a viral infection. ... Pneumonia is an illness of the lungs and respiratory system in which the alveoli (microscopic air-filled sacs of the lung responsible for absorbing oxygen from the atmosphere) become inflamed and flooded with fluid. ... The Human Nervous System A human being coordinates its nervous system, the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops input from the senses, and initiates actions. ... The trigeminal nerve is the fifth (V) cranial nerve, and carries sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscles of mastication (the muscles enabling chewing), tensor tympani (in the middle ear), and other muscles in the floor of the mouth, such as the... This is a dorsal root ganglion (DRG) from a chicken embryo (around stage of day 7) after incubation overnight in NGF growth medium stained with anti-neurofilament antibody. ... Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation (from the general area of the spinal cord) of varicella zoster virus (VZV, primary infection of which leads to chickenpox), one of the Herpesviridae group, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. ... Postherpetic neuralgia is a painful, often excruciating condition caused by the damage that the varicella zoster virus causes to the affected nerves during and after an attack of herpes zoster (shingles). ...

Morphology

VZV is closely related to the herpes simplex viruses (HSV), sharing much genome homology. The known envelope glycoproteins (gB, gC, gE, gH, gI, gK, gL) correspond with those in HSV, however there is no equivalent of HSV gD. VZV virons are spherical and 150-200 nm in diameter. Their lipid envelope encloses the nucleocapsid of 162 capsomeres arranged in a hexagonal form. Its DNA is a single, linear, double-stranded molecule, 125,000 nt long. Species Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) This article is about the virus. ... In biology the genome of an organism is the whole hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA). ... A polyunsaturated triglyceride. ... A regular hexagon. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ...

The virus is very susceptible to disinfectants, notably sodium hypochlorite. Within the body it can be treated by a number of drugs and therapeutic agents including aciclovir, zoster-immune globulin (ZIG), and vidarabine. This is an article about antimicrobial agents. ... Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaClO. A solution of sodium hypochlorite is frequently used as a disinfectant and as a bleaching agent; indeed, often it is simply called bleach, though other chemicals are sometimes given that name as well. ... Aciclovir (INN) (IPA: ) or acyclovir (USAN, former BAN) is a guanine analogue antiviral drug primarily used for the treatment of herpes simplex virus infection. ... Zoster-immune globulin (ZIG) is a globulin fraction (separable constituent) of pooled (mixed) plasma extracted from human donors who have recovered from infection by herpes zoster. ... Chemical structure of vidarabine Vidarabine is an anti-viral drug which is active against herpes simplex and varicella zoster viruses. ...

Vaccine

A live attenuated VZV Oka/Merck strain vaccine is available and is marketed under the trade name Varivax. It was developed by Merck, Sharp & Dohme in the 1980s from the Oka strain virus isolated and attenuated by Michiaki Takahashi and colleagues in the 1970s. It was submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval in 1990 and was approved in 1995. Since then, it has been added to the recommended vaccination schedules for children in Australia, the United States, and many other countries, causing controversy because it is only expected to be effective for about twenty years, leaving adults vulnerable to the most dangerous forms of infection by this virus. The use of varicella virus vaccine live (Varivax) has been limited by practitioner concerns that adults vaccinated as children could develop severe varicella infection complications if immunity provided by the vaccine is not long-lasting. However, clinical data has proved that the vaccine is effective for over 10 years in preventing varicella infection in healthy individuals and when breakthrough infections do occur, illness is typically mild.^[1] A vaccine is an antigenic preparation used to establish immunity to a disease. ... Merck & Co. ... hi “FDA” redirects here. ...

In 2006, the FDA approved Zostavax for the prevention of shingles. Zostavax is a more concentrated formulation of the Varivax vaccine, designed to elicit an immune response in the eldery whose immunity to VZV wanes with advancing age. ^[2] The United States Food and Drug Administration is the government agency responsible for regulating food, dietary supplements, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, biologics and blood products in the United States. ... Zostavax is a vaccine developed by Merck & Co. ...

See also

• Progressive outer retinal necrosis

Progressive outer retinal necrosis (PORN), also known as Varicella zoster virus retinitis (VZVR)[1], is an aggressive, necrotizing inflammation of the eyes retina caused by herpes varicella zoster virus. ...

External Links

• Center for Disease Control on Varicella
• Center for Disease Control on Shingles

References

1. ^ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prevention of varicella: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR 1996;45(No.RR-11)
2. ^ Poland, Gregory. "The Growing Paradigm of Preventing Disease." Annals of Internal Medicine. 2005;143539-541.