Shingles, or VZV, occurs due to reactivation of the virus. After the initial infection the virus becomes dormant in the dorsal root ganglia and then at times of stress or presumably decreased anti-VZV immunity, the virus travels down the axons producing the characteristic eruption.

Frequently there is a prodrome consisting of parathesias or pain along the site.

In the epidemiology, shingles occurs mostly with advancing age and for reasons that are not at all understood - occurs principally, if not exclusively, in caucasians.

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