Family History of Shingles May Be Motivator to Get
Vaccination
Significantly higher proportion reported having
family history of herpes zoster
CDC Recommends
Shingles Vaccine for Those Age 60 and Older - see below news
report.
May 19, 2008 There is new evidence to be
considered by the millions of older Americans wrestling with the
decision of whether or not to get the costly shingles vaccination.
Researchers report those who do get herpes zoster, or shingles, are much
more likely than others to have a family history of the condition.
Herpes zoster occurs when the virus that causes
chickenpox, varicella zoster, is reactivated in spinal nerves, according
to background information in the May issue of Archives of Dermatology,
one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Most adults carry the varicella zoster virus, but
only 10 percent to 30 percent develop shingles, which causes nerve pain
and substantial health care costs.
Risk factors include depressed or suppressed
immunity, older age, and other illness. Sex, ethnicity, stress, trauma
and exposure to heavy metals also may play a role. More recently,
genetic risk factors have been suggested for shingles and other
infectious diseases associated with decreased immunity.
Lindsey D. Hicks, B.S., of the University of Texas
Medical School at Houston, and colleagues compared 504 patients treated
for herpes zoster between 1992 and 2005 to 523 control individuals with
other minor or chronic skin conditions treated at the same clinic.
Participants provided demographic data and answered
questions about their personal and family history of herpes zoster.
A significantly higher proportion of cases
reported having a family history of herpes zoster (39.3 percent vs. 10.5
percent), the authors found.
Individuals with herpes zoster were 4.35 times more
likely to have a first-degree relative and 4.27 times more likely to
have another relative with a history of the condition than individuals
in the control group.
Our study suggests a strong association between
the development of herpes zoster and having a blood relative with a
history of zoster, the authors write.
Such patients represent a population that may be
at increased risk of developing herpes zoster and therefore have a
greater need for vaccination. Therefore, targeting these at-risk
individuals based on their family history may decrease both their chance
of future herpes zoster infection and health care expenditures toward
herpes zoster morbidity, or illness.
CDC Recommends
Shingles Vaccine for Those Age 60 and Older
(Issued May 15, 2008) - People age 60 and older
should be vaccinated against shingles, or herpes zoster, a condition
often marked by debilitating chronic pain, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended today.
CDC recommends a single dose of the zoster vaccine,
Zostavax, for adults 60 years of age and older even if they have had a
prior episode of shingles. The new full recommendation replaces a
provisional recommendation that the CDC made in 2006, after the vaccine
was licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and recommended by
the CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a
committee of immunization experts who advise CDC on immunization policy.
The recommendation was published in an early
release electronic edition of CDCs Mortality and Morbidity Weekly
Report (MMWR) Recommendations and Reports. The ACIP recommendation
becomes CDC policy once it is published in the MMWR.
Researchers found that, overall, in those ages 60
and above the vaccine reduced the occurrence of shingles by about 50
percent. For individuals ages 60-69 it reduced occurrence by 64 percent.
The most common side effects in people who received Zostavax were
redness, pain and tenderness, swelling at the site of injection, itching
and headache.
Over 95 percent of people are infected by the
varicella zoster virus (VZV), during their lifetime. The virus causes
the common childhood disease chickenpox and then becomes dormant within
the nerves. If it reactivates later in life, the result can be shingles.
Shingles is characterized by clusters of blisters, which develop on one
side of the body in a band-like pattern and can cause severe pain that
may last for weeks, months or years. About one in three persons will
develop shingles during their lifetimes, resulting in about one million
cases of shingles per year.
Chickenpox (also called varicella) is usually mild,
but it can be serious, especially in young infants and adults. Children
who have never had chickenpox should get two doses of chickenpox vaccine
starting at 12 months of age. The risk of contracting shingles increases
with age starting at around 50, and is highest in the elderly. Half of
people living to age 85 have had or will get shingles. The risk of
experiencing chronic pain also increases with age.
Shingles Facts
▪ Anyone who has had chicken pox can get
shingles. That means 95 percent of adults are at risk.
▪ Approximately one-third of the U.S.
population will get shingles.
▪ More than half of older adults do not
understand the seriousness of shingles and its complications.
▪ Among those who get shingles, more than
one-third will develop serious complications. The risk of complications
rises after 60 years of age.
▪ Appropriate and immediate treatment of herpes
zoster can control acute symptoms and reduce the risk of longer term
complications. Starting anti-viral medication within 72 hours of the
onset of shingles can reduce the pain and the length of time the
outbreak lasts.
Also called: Herpes zoster, Postherpetic
neuralgia
Shingles is a disease caused by the varicella-zoster
virus - the same virus that causes
chickenpox. After you have chickenpox, the virus stays in your body.
It may not cause problems for many years. As you get older, the virus
may reappear as shingles. Unlike chickenpox, you can't catch shingles
from someone who has it.
Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting
pain and tingling or itching, usually on one side of the body or face.
The pain can be mild to severe. Blisters then form and last from one to
14 days. If shingles appears on your face, it may affect your vision or
hearing. The pain of shingles may last for weeks, months or even years
after the blisters have healed.
There is no cure for shingles. Early treatment with
medicines that fight the virus may help. These medicines may also help
prevent lingering pain. A vaccine may prevent shingles or lessen its
effects. The vaccine is for people 60 or over who have had chickenpox
but who have not had shingles.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases
Links:
▪
Shingles(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash
Player. Also available in
Spanish
▪
Shingles(National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash
Player. Also available in
(National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)