NEWS - Panel urges shingles vaccine for those 60 and older

October 26, 2006

Panel urges shingles vaccine for those 60 and older

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Greg Bluestein

Associated Press

Atlanta - A government advisory panel recommended on Wednesday that

Americans 60 and older be vaccinated against shingles, an excruciatingly

painful rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.

The recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

usually are accepted by federal health officials, and they influence

insurance companies' decisions on which vaccinations to cover.

Shingles is a blistering skin rash that is most common in older people.

It usually goes away after four weeks, but one in five sufferers develops

severe long-term nerve pain known as postherpetic neuralgia.

Complications also can include scarring and loss of vision or hearing.

Antiviral medications are of limited help, and some doctors say such drugs

do not prevent shingles from progressing into postherpetic neuralgia.

No vaccine was available until May, when the Food and Drug Administration

licensed Zostavax, made by Merck & Co. The vaccine is a souped-up version of

Merck's chickenpox vaccine for children, with a live virus that is 14 times

as potent.

Shingles is caused by the varicella zoster virus. An estimated 15 percent to

30 percent of people infected with the chickenpox virus develop shingles

later in life.

The virus essentially hibernates for decades in nerve cells around the

spine.

It reactivates in some patients, probably because the body's immune system

weakens with age, doctors say. But the new vaccine appears to hold the virus

in check.

Merck said it is still investigating whether the vaccine will help people

who have already had shingles.

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Not an MD

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

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