Is there a relationship between increased cases of herpes zoster and Covid-19? The expert explains

I wrote in health he 3/8/2023 – 5:43 PM

study he did Montes Claros State University (MG) showed a 35% increase in cases herpes zoster; during a pandemic COVID-19This raises the possibility of a relationship between the two diseases.

The work argues that there may be a relationship between the two diseases. However, studies continue It is not sufficient to conclude whether there is a direct relationship.

a Infectious disease scientist Marcus Keseru It states that caution should be exercised in these associations. “In medicine, there is a concept that I like very much: Correlation does not imply causation, which is a basic principle of statistics. So, we sometimes have some associations that people tend to think are causal,” he explains.

The doctor cites an example: “Switzerland is the country in which there is a correlation between chocolate consumption and the highest number of Nobel Prize winners. It’s an accidental relationship. There is no causal relationship between one factor and another“.

Homemade says we’re “seeing a post-Covid chain of events. But, during Covid, people have been trapped for a while, and many have lost their jobs. Then, There are thousands of social factors that may be associated with the increase, for example, in cases of herpes zoster“.

The specialist explains that herpes zoster is a Chickenpox relapse that people experienced in childhood. “I see a lot of cases of shingles, but honestly, I haven’t seen any reports of an increase. Now, it’s also not possible to say there isn’t such an association. And it makes sense that stress from Covid, which is a viral infection, and the change in immunity would interfere.”

Homemade also notes that during this period a new vaccine called Shingrix appeared, which is intended for people over 50 years of age. Sometimes this information appears in the sense of saying: Do you see? It is important to get vaccinated so you do not get shingles.” So, I repeat: even if there is an association, it certainly lacks greater causation to explain it. These are epidemiological studies that do not necessarily agree with a cause-and-effect correlation. We need to be very careful with that.”

What is it, what are the symptoms and how is the treatment

Herpes zoster, popularly known as herpes zosterIt is an infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus People who have had chickenpox. Usually a virus I hugged for a long time.

The main symptoms Severe, very painful skin lesions that appear on the chest, abdomen, lower back, or on the face. It can also appear on the upper extremities and the head. The patient may experience fever, headache, malaise, tingling, and fatigue. Treatment includes medications Painkillers and antivirals.