Chicken Pox Virus

Chicken pox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. It is a relative of the herpes virus and highly contagious and is predominately a childhood disease. The disease can be spread by airborne means through coughing and by contact. The disease may also be spread by those that have developed shingles which is a secondary infection of the varicella-zoster virus that develops with age. Anyone that has had chickenpox can develop shingles. The virus goes dormant when the chicken pox clears but can reactivate at a later point in life. The virus causes high fever, loss of appetite, tiredness, headaches and blisters. These blisters start on the face, back and chest and then spread across the body. They can also affect internal organs. The disease rarely attacks adults due to the fact that it is primarily a childhood disease. The case in the book detailed a case in which a 42 year old man came down with chicken pox. He had been admitted to another hospital and sent home before Dr. Nagami got to see him. He had not been treated with antiviral medicine in his previous

With his skin open to infection the bacteria invaded the body. The infection also triggered pneumonia and ARDS which wrecked his lungs. His body was fighting a multi front war. He was so weakened by the disease and the resulting complications his body was unable to heal. In the end he became delirious and pulled his breathing tube and caused death when his heart stopped. Chicken pox in adults usually causes a more severe than cases seen in children. Adults can develop bacterial infections that cause sepsis. It can also cause pneumonia, encephalitis and toxic shock syndrome. Cases in adults unlike most childhood cases can develop into life threatening complications as the case in this chapter showed. Since it is a viral infection dugs can only inhibit the infection not cure it. The immune system alone has to stop the