"Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and can be serious, even life-threatening, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Before the vaccine was available, about 4 million people got chickenpox each year in the United States, over 10,500 of those people were hospitalized, and about 100-150 people died.1 Since the vaccine was introduced in 1995, less and less children are getting the disease."
So this VZV is what begins the process...
From Wiki:
"Chickenpox-like rashes were recognized and described by ancient civilizations; the relationship between zoster and chickenpox was not realized until 1888.[29] In 1943, the similarity between virus particles isolated from the lesions of zoster and those from chickenpox was noted.[30] In 1974 the first chickenpox vaccine was introduced.[31]"
It seems this thing is pretty old. My final question I suppose (and I bet I know the answer!) is: how come we haven't figured out the source of this and the cure? Big Pharma making money?
I am not sure that we "cure" any virus. I think we just suppress it so that it no longer bothers us. That is why when our defences drop they can start to bother us again.
A vaccine that "cures" something is just training our innate immune system to keep the virus subdued. We never lose the virus - that's why we have trillions of them.
From Brave search AI thingy:
"Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and can be serious, even life-threatening, especially in babies, adolescents, adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems. Before the vaccine was available, about 4 million people got chickenpox each year in the United States, over 10,500 of those people were hospitalized, and about 100-150 people died.1 Since the vaccine was introduced in 1995, less and less children are getting the disease."
So this VZV is what begins the process...
From Wiki:
"Chickenpox-like rashes were recognized and described by ancient civilizations; the relationship between zoster and chickenpox was not realized until 1888.[29] In 1943, the similarity between virus particles isolated from the lesions of zoster and those from chickenpox was noted.[30] In 1974 the first chickenpox vaccine was introduced.[31]"
It seems this thing is pretty old. My final question I suppose (and I bet I know the answer!) is: how come we haven't figured out the source of this and the cure? Big Pharma making money?
I am not sure that we "cure" any virus. I think we just suppress it so that it no longer bothers us. That is why when our defences drop they can start to bother us again.
A vaccine that "cures" something is just training our innate immune system to keep the virus subdued. We never lose the virus - that's why we have trillions of them.