In a new study, researchers found that more senior people in the U.S. are being diagnosed with eye complications of shingles, or herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO).
They found that the occurrence of HZO has tripled during a 12-year-period.
The study was done a team from Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan.
Previous research has shown that the virus can become active again years after recovering from chickenpox.
This can cause shingles, which is a painful, debilitating infection that can cause corneal scarring and blindness.
In the study, the team found that the incidence of HZO in the U.S. increased between 2004 and 2016.
The rate was 9.4 cases per 100,000 people at the beginning of the study and 30.1 cases per 100,000 by the end of the study.
Their data analysis showed that shingles can affect the eyes, which may be more of a problem for women and adults over age 75.
They also found that whites are more so than other racial groups diagnosed with HZO (30.6), with rates lower among blacks (23.4), Asians (21.0) and Latinos (14.6).
In addition, women had a higher risk of HZO (29.1).
The findings also showed that the shingles vaccination Shingrix can provide strong protection from shingles and its complications, but it is not widely used.
Currently, two doses of Shingrix are more than 90% effective at preventing shingles. They are recommended for those age 50 and older.
Shingrix can also help prevent future occurrences.
The team suggests that future work needs to find which patients are at greatest risk for HZO and how to prevent it.
One author of the study is Nakul Shekhawat, M.D., MPH., a comprehensive ophthalmologist at the University of Michigan Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
The study was presented at the 2019 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology annual meeting in Vancouver.
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