In this video Dr. Frith delves into the exploration of chickenpox, discussing its symptoms and transmission using real-life scenarios. The video highlights the influence of varicella vaccination in disease prevention and emphasizes essential infection prevention strategies to mitigate varicella exposure.
Facts about the Chicken Pox:
- One-time Affliction: Generally, individuals who contract chickenpox typically only get it once in their lifetime. After recovering from the infection, the body develops immunity, making a person less likely to get infected again.
- Shingles Connection: The virus that causes chickenpox, varicella-zoster, can remain dormant in the body’s nerve cells. Later in life, the virus can re-emerge as shingles, a painful rash that usually occurs on one side of the body.
- Incubation Period: The incubation period for chickenpox is typically 10 to 21 days after exposure. This means that symptoms may not appear until more than a week after a person has been exposed to the virus.
- Highly Contagious: Chickenpox is highly contagious, and a person with the virus can spread it to others from about 1-2 days before the rash appears until all the blisters have crusted over. This makes it important to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
- Historical Impact: Before the introduction of the varicella vaccine, chickenpox was a common childhood illness – impacting about 4 million children and adults annually. The vaccine has significantly reduced the incidence of chickenpox and its complications since its introduction in the late 1990s.
Click here to check out the CDC’s infographic on Chicken Pox!