Varicella Zoster- Chickenpox

By; Nate Martin and Candace Young

Transmission

• You can get the chickenpox from an infected person who sneezes, coughs, or shares their food or drinks. • You can also get chickenpox from

touching the fluid from a chickenpox blister.

Symptoms

• fever• headache • sore throat • fatigue• loss of appetite• chickenpox rash (red,

irritated, itchy, bumps)

Treatments• For people with healthy immune systems, it goes away on its own• To help with the itching, comfort treatments are recommended

– Benadryl– Oatmeal baths– Calamine/ caladryl lotion

• For people with nonfunctional immune systems, they are treated with Acyclovir (WebMD, 2011)

Prevention

• To prevent the chickenpox by getting the chickenpox vaccine.

• Not exposing yourself to people infected with the varicella zoster virus (WebMD, 2011).

Individual impact

• Chickenpox can cause scars from the rash. Also, once a person gets the chickenpox he/she is less likely to get the vericella zoster virus. This is because the body recognizes the virus and can fight it better.

Community consequences/ Prevalence

• An infected person is most contagious day 2- day 5 of being sick, however the rash (which is most common identifier) doesn’t show up till day 6,7, or 8. Therefore, virus can spread with out people knowing. With people not knowing their infected they can spread virus in common areas such as school, work, transportation systems, parks and restaurants.

• About 95% of Americans have had chicken pox.

Social/ Economic Impacts of Chicken Pox

• Chicken pox is extremely contagious – Kids exceeded from daycare or school – Could result in lost income

• Complications could develop costing more money – In severe cases, some children must be hospitalized– Rarely, some children die of this infection

• A parent of the child could catch the chicken pox– Cost more money, more severe complications than kids.

• The virus never leaves the body, – But goes dormant in the nervous system– Can be reactivated later

– Comes back in the form of shingles– Leads to more doctors’ visits

Documentation of Sources

• WebMD. (October 13, 2011).Chickenpox (Varicella)- Topic Overview. (Accessed March 12, 2013).

• Martin, L. K., (11 March 2013)Pediatrician. Personal commutation.

• Sylvia S. Mader. (2010). Tenth edition. Biology.