This paper will provide information about the Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), starting from the historical aspects of it and ways on how to treat this infection. The Varicella Zoster Virus is a virus that causes two different infections: varicella and herpes zoster. Most people know varicella as chickenpox. The first sign of varicella is a rash. Red, itchy spots begin to appear over the face, ears, scalp, abdomen, chest, back, arms, legs, basically anywhere on the body. The spots eventually develop into vesicles, also known as blisters, that are filled with clear fluid. The vesicles gradually dry out and scabs begin to form. These scabs eventually fall out without leaving any scar. Herpes zoster is an infection that occurs after varicella has occurred; it is commonly known as shingles. Herpes zoster involves a nerve and the area of skin supplied with that nerve. Similar to varicella, shingles also leads to a development of red rash, but it is …show more content…
E. Tyzzer and E. Goodpasture made classical observations on the histopathologic changes produced by the Varicella Zoster Virus. In 1901, Tyzzer studied an outbreak of smallpox in Boston, which was considered to be caused by a protozoan parasite. In 1904, Tyzzer was sent to Philippines to study the susceptibility of monkeys to smallpox, but he was intrigued by the outbreak of varicella in Bilibid prison. Tyzzer ended up outlining techniques for differentiating varicella from smallpox, including the microscopic observation of fluid from a varicella vesicle, which would reveal multinucleated giant cells, which are usually not present in vesicle fluid in variola lesion. Tyzzer found out that varicella is often a disease for adults in tropical countries. An investigation of an epidemic of varicella in soldiers from Puerto Rico shows that 42% were negative for varicella, and survey in St. Lucia, an island in the West Indies, indicated that less than 10% of the population had experienced an infection before the age of 15