Chicken pox Prof. Dr. Marlina, MS, Apt.

 Chickenpox, also spelled chicken pox, is the common name for Varicella zoster  Classically one of the childhood infectious diseases caught and survived by most children.  Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), also known as human herpes virus 3 (HHV-3), one of the eight herpes viruses known to affect humans. varicella-zoster virusherpes virusesvaricella-zoster virusherpes viruses 

 It starts with conjunctival and catarrhal symptoms, extreme defecation and then characteristic spots appearing in two or three waves, mainly on the body and head rather than the hands and becoming itchy raw pox (pocks), small open sores which heal mostly without scarring. conjunctival catarrhal defecationpoxconjunctival catarrhal defecationpox

Penyebaran  Chickenpox has a day incubation period and is highly contagious by air transmission two days before symptoms appear.

 Following primary infection there is usually lifelong protective immunity from further episodes of chickenpox.  Recurrent chickenpox is fairly rare but more likely in people with compromised immune systems.

 Symptomatic treatment, with calamine lotion to ease itching and paracetamol (American English: acetaminophen) to reduce fever, is widely used. calamine lotion paracetamolAmerican English calamine lotion paracetamolAmerican English

 Chickenpox is rarely fatal (usually from varicella pneumonia), with pregnant women and those with a suppressed immune systems being more at risk. pneumonia

 Pregnant women not known to be immune and who come into contact with chickenpox may need urgent treatment as the virus can cause serious problems for the fetus.  This is less of an issue after 20 weeks

Signs and Symptoms  Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease that spreads from person to person by direct contact or through the air from an infected person's coughing or sneezing.

 Touching the fluid from a chickenpox blister can also spread the disease. A person with chickenpox is contagious from 1-2 days before the rash appears until all blisters have formed scabs. This may take 5-10 days.  It takes from days after contact with an infected person for someone to develop chickenpox.

Vaccination  A varicella vaccine has been available since 1995 to inoculate against the disease. varicella vaccinevaricella vaccine  Some countries require the varicella vaccination or an exemption for matriculation in elementary school. matriculation  Protection is not lifelong and further vaccination is necessary five years after the initial immunisation.

 In the UK, varicella antibodies are measured as part of the routine of prenatal care, and by 2005 all NHS healthcare personnel had determined their immunity and been immunised if they were non-immune and have direct patient contact.  Population-based immunisation against varicella is not otherwise practised in the UK, because of lack of evidence of lasting efficacy or public health benefit.

Why the name of chickenpox : Why the name of chickenpox :  Samuel Johnson suggested that the disease was "no very great danger", thus a "chicken" version of the pox; Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson  the specks that appear looked as though the skin was pecked by chickens;  the disease was named after chick peas, from a supposed similarity in size of the seed to the lesions; chick peaschick peas  the term reflects a corruption of the Old English word giccin, which meant itching.

 As "pox" also means curse, in medieval times some believed it was a plague brought on to curse children by the use of black magic.