Shingles are also called herpes zoster. It is a disease caused by the reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It causes a painful blistering rash.
A recent study from GSK in Belgium found that adults aged 50 years or older have an increased risk of developing shingles after a COVID-19 diagnosis.
Shingles are a serious disease because they can cause severe nerve pain that can last for months.
It can also lead to serious eye problems, including blindness; pneumonia; hearing problems; swelling of the brain, and death.
In the study, researchers compared the incidence of herpes zoster in those aged 50 years and older diagnosed with COVID-19 and those never diagnosed with COVID-19.
A total of 394,677 individuals with COVID-19 were matched to 1,577,346 individuals without COVID-19 by age, sex, herpes zoster risk factors, and healthcare cost level.
The researchers found that the risk for herpes zoster was increased for people diagnosed with COVID-19 versus those without. The increased risk was more pronounced after COVID-19 hospitalization.
This is the first epidemiological evidence linking prior COVID-19 infection with increased shingles risk among older adults, who are already at heightened risk of shingles due to age-related decline in immunity.
The team says that it is important that healthcare professionals are aware of this potential increased risk so patients can be diagnosed and treated early if they develop shingles following COVID-19.
These results also highlight the importance of preventative measures, such as vaccination, to protect the health and well-being of older adults who are at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases like COVID-19 and shingles.
If you care about COVID, please read studies about the cause of post-COVID syndromes, and how vitamin B may help fight COVID-19.
For more information about COVID, please see recent studies about mouthwashes that may suppress COVID-19 virus, and results showing rare blood clots after COVID-19 vaccination.
The research was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and conducted by Amit Bhavsar et al.
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