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Varicella zoster virus
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Varicella zoster virus, abbreviated VZV, is a virus whose genetic material is DNA and which belongs to the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, that is, to the herpes family. It causes two different diseases: chickenpox, which is the primary infection, the first time around, and herpes zoster, which appears when the virus reactivates later on.
Its route inside the body has stops along the way. It enters through the mucosa of the conjunctiva of the eye or of the upper airways. From there it passes to the nearby lymph nodes and multiplies in them, and then a first wave through the blood, called the primary viremia, spreads it to the spleen, the liver and other sites. It comes in through the nose, stops at the warehouses, and reaches the skin on the second trip.
A week later the second wave arrives, the secondary viremia, and that one does carry it to the internal organs and the skin: that is where the skin lesions of chickenpox come from. Afterward the virus does not leave: it stays latent, that is, dormant, in the sensory nerves, the ones that carry sensation.
In brief
Varicella zoster virus, a DNA virus of the Alphaherpesvirinae subfamily, causes chickenpox as the primary infection and herpes zoster when it reactivates.
It enters through the conjunctival or upper respiratory mucosa, replicates in the lymph nodes, and a first viremia carries it to the spleen and liver.
It comes in through the nose, stops at the warehouses, and reaches the skin on the second trip.
A week later a secondary viremia carries it to the internal organs and the skin, and it stays latent in the sensory nerves.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingVaricella-Zoster Virus (Chickenpox), StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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