Shingles and its most common disabling complication, post-herpetic neuralgia, represent a serious public health challenge in the older population.

However, new vaccines and adjuvants are being developed and trialed and are now more effective in preventing shingles and the sequelae of post-herpetic neuralgia.

Varicella zoster virus can be latent in cranial nerve or dorsal root ganglia, and reactivate several decades later to produce vesicles with post-herpetic neuralgia.