RT Book, Section A1 Poole, Claudette L. A1 Kimberlin, David W. A2 Kline, Mark W. SR Print(0) ID 1182903470 T1 Varicella-Zoster Virus Infections T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 23e YR 2018 FD 2018 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259588594 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1182903470 RD 2024/03/28 AB Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is 1 of the 9 human herpesviruses, which include herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, and human herpesviruses 6A, 6B, 7, and 8. As with HSV-1 and HSV-2, VZV establishes latency in sensory or autonomic ganglia following primary infection, with the ability for subsequent reactivation. The primary acquisition of VZV results in the clinical disease varicella (chickenpox) with reactivation from latency resulting in zoster (shingles). Live-attenuated varicella vaccine was licensed in the United States in 1995 and, over the past 20 years, has substantially altered the epidemiology of the disease in this country, with rates of varicella and its complications plummeting.