Abstract
The objective of this chapter is to review the epidemiology and natural history of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. Epidemiology seeks to explain and comprehend diseases by studying the characteristics of diseases in populations. For this chapter, these characteristics include morbidity, mortality, incidence and prevalence rates, and risk factors for herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. The sources of epidemiological data in this chapter include cohort studies, case-control studies, clinical trials, large case series, and case reports.
References
Arvin AM, Koropchak CM, Wittek AE (1983) Immunological evidence of reinfection with varicella-zoster virus. J Infect Dis 148:200–205
Baron R, Haendler G, Schulte H (1997) Afferent large fiber polyneuropathy predicts the development of postherpetic neuralgia. Pain 73:231–238
Berlin BS, Campbell T (1970) Hospital-acquired herpes zoster following exposure to chickenpox. JAMA 211:1831–1832
Beutner KR, Friedman DJ, Forszpaniak C et al (1995) Valaciclovir compared with acyclovir for improved therapy for herpes zoster in immunocompetent adults. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 39:1546–1553
Bhala BB, Ramamoorthy C, Bowsher D et al (1988) Shingles and postherpetic neuralgia. Clin J Pain 4:169–174
Blank LJ, Polydefkis MJ, Moore RD et al (2012) Herpes zoster among persons living with HIV in the current antiretroviral therapy era. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 61:203–207
Bowsher D (1992) Acute herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: effects of acyclovir and outcome of treatment with amitriptyline. Br J Gen Pract 42:244–246
Bowsher D (1993) Sensory change in postherpetic neuralgia. In: Watson CPN (ed) Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 97–107
Bouhassira D, Chassany O, Gaillat J et al (2012) Patient perspective on herpes zoster and its complications: an observational prospective study in patients aged over 50 years in general practice. Pain 153:342–349
Brisson M, Edmunds WJ, Law B et al (2001) Epidemiology of varicella zoster virus infection in Canada and the United Kingdom. Epidemiol Infect 127:305–314
Bruxelle J (1995) Prospective epidemiologic study of painful and neurologic sequelae induced by herpes zoster in patients treated early with oral acyclovir. Neurology 45:S78–S79
Buchbinder SP, Katz MH, Hessol NA et al (1992) Herpes zoster and human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis 166:1153–1156
Chakravarty EF, Michaud K, Katz R et al (2013) Increased incidence of herpes zoster among patients with systemic lupus erythematous. Lupus 22:238–244
Chen SY, Suaya JA, Li Q et al (2014) Incidence of herpes zoster in patients with altered immune function. Infection 42:325–334
Choo PW, Galil K, Donahue JG et al (1997) Risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia. Arch Intern Med 157:1217–1224
Coen PG, Scott F, Leedham-Green M et al (2006) Predicting and preventing post Herpetic neuralgia: are current risk factors useful in clinical practice? Eur J Pain 10:695–700
Colebunders R, Mann JM, Francis H et al (1988) Herpes zoster in African patients: a clinical predictor of human immunodeficiency virus infections. J Infect Dis 157:314–318
Cohen JI (2013) Herpes Zoster. N Engl J Med 369:255–263
Desmond RA, Weiss HL, Arani RB et al (2002) Clinical applications for change-point analysis of herpes zoster pain. J Pain Symptom Manag 23:510–516
Donahue JG, Choo PW, Manson JE et al (1995) The incidence of herpes zoster. Arch Intern Med 155:1605–1609
Drolet M, Brisson M, Schmader KE et al (2010a) The impact of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia on quality of life. CMAJ 182:1731–1736
Drolet M, Brisson M, Schmader K et al (2010b) Predictors of postherpetic neuralgia among patients with herpes zoster: a prospective study. J Pain 11:1211–1221
Dworkin RH (1996) Racial differences in herpes zoster and age at onset of varicella. J Infect Dis 174:239–241
Dworkin RH, Gnann JW, Oaklander AL et al (2008) Diagnosis and assessment of pain associated with herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia. J Pain 9:S37–S44
Dworkin RH, Portenoy RK (1996) Pain and its persistence in herpes zoster. Pain 67:241–251
Dworkin RH, Hartstein G, Rosner HL et al (1992) A high-risk method for studying psychosocial antecedents of chronic pain: the prospective investigation of herpes zoster. J Abnorm Psychol 101:200–205
Dworkin RH, Carrington D, Cunningham A et al (1997) Assessment of pain in herpes zoster: lessons learned from antiviral trials. Antivir Res 33:73–85
Dworkin RH, Boon RJ, Griffin DRG et al (1998) Postherpetic neuralgia: impact of famciclovir, age, rash severity, and acute pain in herpes zoster patients. J Infect Dis 178:S76–S80
Engels EA, Rosenberg PS, Biggar RJ (1999) Zoster incidence in human immunodeficiency virus-infected hemophiliacs and homosexual men, 1984–1997: district of Columbia Gay Cohort Study, Multicenter Hemophilia Cohort Study. J Infect Dis 180:1784–1789
Forbes HJ, Bhaskaran K, Thomas SL et al (2014) Quantification of risk factors for herpes zoster: population based case-control study. BMJ 348:g2911. doi:10.1136/bmj.g2911
Forbes HJ, Thomas SL, Clayton T et al (2016) A systematic review and meta-analysis of risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia. Pain 157:30–54
Galil K, Choo PW, Donahue JG et al (1997) The sequelae of herpes zoster. Arch Intern Med 157:1209–1213
Galloway JB, Mercer LK, Moseley A et al (2013) Risk of skin and soft tissue infections (including shingles) in patients exposed to anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy: results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register. Ann Rheum Dis 72:229–234
Gauthier A, Breuer J, Carrington D et al (2009) Epidemiology and cost of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia in the United Kingdom. Epidemiol Infect 137:38–47
Gershon AA, Mervish N, LaRussa P et al (1997) Varicella-zoster virus infection in children with underlying human immunodeficiency virus infection. J Infect Dis 176:1496–1500
Gilden DH, Dueland AN, Cohrs R et al (1991) Preherpetic neuralgia. Neurology 41:1215–1218
Gilden DH, Dueland AN, Devlin ME et al (1992) Varicella zoster virus reactivation without rash. J Infect Dis 166:S30–S34
Gilden DH, Wright RR, Schneck SA et al (1994) Zoster sine herpete, a clinical variant. Ann Neurol 35:530–533
Glesby M, Moore RD, Chaisson RE (1995) Clinical spectrum of herpes zoster in adults with HIV. Clin Infect Dis 21:370–375
Gershon AA, Breuer J, Cohen JI et al (2015a) Varicella zoster virus infection. Nat Rev Primers 1:15016
Gershon AA, Chen J, Gershon MD (2015b) Use of saliva to identify varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection of the gut. Clin Infect Dis 61:536–544
Guess HA, Broughton DD, Melton LJ III et al (1985) Epidemiology of Herpes zoster in children and adolescents: a population-based study. Pediatrics 76:512–517
Guignard AP, Greenberg M, Lu C et al (2014) Risk of herpes zoster among diabetics: a matched cohort study in a US in a US insurance claim database before introduction of vaccination, 1997–2006. Infection 42:729–735
Haanpää ML, Laippala PA, Nurmikko TJ (1999a) Thermal and tactile perception thresholds in acute herpes zoster. Eur J Pain 3:375–386
Haanpää M, Laippala P, Nurmikko T (1999b) Pain and somatosensory dysfunction in acute herpes zoster. Clin J Pain 15:78–84
Haanpää M, Laippala P, Nurmikko T (2000) Allodynia and pinprick hypesthesia in acute herpes zoster and the development of postherpetic neuralgia. J Pain Symptom Manag 20:50–58
Habel LA, Ray GT, Silverberg MJ et al (2013) The epidemiology of herpes zoster in patients with newly diagnosed cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomark Prev 22:82–90
Hales CM, Harpaz R, Joesoef MR et al (2013) Examination of links between herpes zoster incidence and childhood varicella vaccination. Ann Intern Med 159:739–745
Harrison RA, Soong S, Weiss HL et al (1999) A mixed model for factors predictive of pain in AIDS patients with herpes zoster. J Pain Symptom Manag 17:410–417
Hernandez PO, Javed S, Mendoza N et al (2011) Family history and herpes zoster risk in the era of shingles vaccination. J Clin Virol 52:344–348
Hicks LD, Cook-Norris RH, Mendoza N et al (2008) Family history as a risk factor for herpes zoster: a case–control study. Arch Dermatol 144:603–608
Higa K, Dan K, Manabe H et al (1988) Factors influencing the duration of treatment of acute herpetic pain with sympathetic nerve block: importance of severity of herpes zoster assessed by the maximum antibody titers to varicella zoster virus in otherwise healthy patients. Pain 32:147–157
Higa K, Mori M, Hirata K et al (1997) Severity of skin lesions of herpes zoster at the worst phase rather than age and involved region most influences the duration of acute herpetic pain. Pain 69:245–253
Higa K, Noda B, Manabe H et al (1992) T-lymphocyte subsets in otherwise healthy patients with herpes zoster and relationships to the duration of acute herpetic pain. Pain 51:111–118
Hope-Simpson RE (1965) The nature of herpes zoster: a long-term study and a new hypothesis. Proc R Soc Med 58:9–20
Hope-Simpson RE (1975) Postherpetic neuralgia. J R Coll Gen Pract 25:571–575
Huff JC, Drucker JL, Clemmer A et al (1993) Effect of oral acyclovir on pain resolution in herpes zoster: a reanalysis. J Med Virol 41:93–96
Johnson RW, Rice AW (2014) Postherpetic Neuralgia. N Engl J Med 371:1526–1533
Jumaan AO, Yu O, Jackson LA et al (2005) Incidence of herpes zoster, before and after varicella-vaccination associated decreases in the incidence of varicella, 1992–2002. J Infect Dis 191:2002–2007
Jung BF, Johnson RW, Griffin DR et al (2004) Risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia in patients with herpes zoster. Neurology 62:1545–1551
Katz J, McDermott MP, Cooper EM et al (2005) Psychosocial risk factors for postherpetic neuralgia: a prospective study of patients with herpes zoster. J Pain 6:782–790
Kawai K, Gebremeskel BG, Acosta C (2014) Systematic review of incidence and complications of herpes zoster: towards a global perspective. BMJ Open 4:e004833
Lal H, Cunningham AL, Godeaux O et al (2015) Efficacy of an adjuvanted herpes zoster subunit vaccine in older adults. N Engl J Med 372:2087–2096
Lasserre A, Blaizeau F, Gorwood P et al (2012) Herpes zoster: family history and psychological stress-case-control study. J Clin Virol 55:153–157
Langan SM, Minassian C, Smeeth L et al (2014) Risk of stroke following herpes zoster: a self-controlled case-series study. Clin Infect Dis 58:1497–1503
Leung J, Harpaz R, Molinari NA et al (2011) Herpes zoster incidence among insured persons in the United States, 1993–2006: evaluation of impact of varicella vaccination. Clin Infect Dis 52:332–340
Levin MJ, Anderson JP, Seage GR 3rd et al (2009) Short-term and long-term effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy on the incidence of herpes zoster in HIV infected children. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 50:182–191
Mahamud A, Marin M, Nickell SP et al (2012) Herpes zoster-related deaths in the United States: validity of death certificates and mortality rates, 1979–2007. Clin Infect Dis 55:960–966
Manzi S, Kuller LH, Kutzer J et al (1995) Herpes zoster in systemic lupus erythematosus. J Rheumatol 22:1254–1258
McKendrick MW, Wood MJ (1995) Acyclovir and post-herpetic neuralgia. BMJ 310:1005
McDonald JR, Zeringue AL, Caplan L et al (2009) Herpes zoster risk factors in a national cohort of veterans with rheumatoid arthritis. Clin Infect Dis 48:1364–1371
Meister W, Neiß A, Gross G et al (1998) A prognostic score for postherpetic neuralgia In ambulatory patients. Infection 26:359–363
Melby M, Grossman RJ, Goedert JJ et al (1987) Risk of AIDS after herpes zoster. Lancet 1:728–371
Moanna A, Rimland D (2013) Decreasing incidence of herpes zoster in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era. Clin Infect Dis 57:122–125
Moore RD, Chaisson RE (1996) Natural history of opportunistic disease in an HIV-infected urban clinical cohort. Ann Intern Med 124:633–642
Nagel MA, Gilden D (2015) The relationship between herpes zoster and stroke. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 15:16
Noda B, Dan K, Manabe H et al (1987) Prognostic clinical signs in herpes zoster pain. Pain Suppl 4:S382
Nurmikko TJ, Bowsher D (1990) Somatosensory findings in postherpetic neuralgia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 53:135–141
Nurmikko TJ, Rasanen A, Hakkinen V (1990) Clinical and neurophysiological observations on acute herpes zoster. Clin J Pain 6:284–290
Oaklander AL, Bowsher D, Galer BS et al (2003) Herpes zoster itch: preliminary epidemiologic data. J Pain 4:338–343
Oaklander AL, Romans K, Horasek S et al (1998) Unilateral postherpetic neuralgia is associated with bilateral sensory neuron damage. Ann Neurol 44:789–795
Opstelten W, Mauritz JW, de Wit NJ et al (2002) Herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: incidence and risk indicators using a general practice research database. Fam Pract 19:471–475
Opstelten W, Van Essen GA, Schellevis F et al (2006) Gender as an independent risk factor for herpes zoster: a population-based prospective. Ann Epidemiol 16:692–695
Opstelten W, Zuithoff NPA, van Essen GA et al (2007) Predicting postherpetic neuralgia in elderly primary care patients with herpes zoster: prospective prognostic study. Pain 132:S52–S59
Oxman MN, Levin MJ, Johnson GR et al (2005) A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults. N Engl J Med 352:2271–2284
Palmer SR, Caul EO, Donald DE et al (1985) An outbreak of shingles? Lancet 2:1108–1111
Park J, Jang WS, Park KY et al (2012) Thermography as a predictor of postherpetic neurgalia in acute herpes zoster patients: a preliminary study. Skin Res Technol 18:88–93
Pérez-Farinós N, Ordobás M, GarcÃa-Fernández C et al (2007) Varicella and Herpes Zoster in Madrid, based on the Sentinel General Practitioner Network: 1997–2004. BMC Infect Dis 7:59
Petursson G, Helgason S, Gudmundsson S et al (1998) Herpes zoster in children and adolescents. Pediatr Infect Dis J 17:905–908
Pergam SA, Forsberg CW, Boeckh MJ et al (2011) Herpes zoster incidence in a multicenter cohort of solid organ transplant recipients. Transpl Infect Dis 13:15–12
Pinchinat S, Cebrian-Cuenca AM, Bricout H et al (2013) Similar herpes zoster incidence across Europe: results from systematic literature review. BMC Infect Dis 13:170
Petersen KL, Rowbotham MC (2010) Natural history of sensory function after herpes zoster. Pain 150:83–92
Ragozzino MW, Melton LF III, Kurland LT (1982) Population-based study of herpes zoster and its sequelae. Medicine 61:310–316
Reda H, Greene K, Rice FL et al (2013) Natural history of herpes zoster: Late follow up of 3.9 years (n = 43) and 7.7 years (n = 10). Pain 154:2227–2233
Rowbotham MC, Yosipovitch G, Connolly MK et al (1996) Cutaneous innervation density in the allodynic form of posthereptic neuralgia. Neurobiol Dis 3:205–214
Russell ML, Schopflocher DP, Svenson L et al (2007) Secular trends in the epidemiology of shingles in Alberta. Epidemiol Infect 135:908–913
Rusthoven JJ, Ahlgren P, Elhakim T et al (1988) Varicella-zoster infection in adult cancer patients: a population study. Arch Intern Med 148:1561–1566
Schmader K, Studenski S, MacMillan J et al (1990) Are stressful life events risk factors for herpes zoster? J Am Geriatr Soc 38:1188–1195
Schmader K, George LK, Newton B et al (1994) The accuracy of self reports of herpes zoster. J Clin Epidemiol 47:1271–1276
Schmader K, George LK, Hamilton JD (1995) Racial differences in the occurrence of herpes zoster. J Infect Dis 171:701–704
Schmader K, George LK, Burchett BM et al (1998) Race and stress in the incidence of herpes zoster in the elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 46:973–977
Schmader KE, Gnann JW, Watson CPN (2008) The epidemiological, clinical and pathological rationale for the zoster vaccine. J Infect Dis 197:S207–S215
Schmader KE, Sloane R, Pieper C et al (2007) The impact of acute herpes zoster pain and discomfort on functional status and quality of life in older adults. Clin J Pain 23:490–497
Scott FT, Leedham-Green ME, Barrett-Muir WY et al (2003) A study of zoster and the development of postherpetic neuralgia in East London. J Med Virol Suppl 1:S24–S30
Thomas SL, Wheeler JG, Hall AJ (2004) Case control study of the effect of mechanical trauma on the risk of herpes zoster. BMJ 328:7437–7439
Thyregod HG, Rowbotham MC, Peters M et al (2007) Natural history of pain following herpes zoster. Pain 128:148–156
Toyama N, Shiraki K, Society of the Miyazaki Prefecture Dermatologists (2009) Epidemiology of herpes zoster and its relationship to varicella in Japan: a 10-year survey of 48,388 herpes zoster cases in Miyazaki prefecture. J Med Virol 81:2053
Tyndall MW, Nasio J, Agoki E et al (1995) Herpes zoster as the initial presentation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in Kenya. Clin Infect Dis 21:1035–1037
Van Seventer R, Sadosky L, Lucero M et al (2006) A cross-sectional survey of health state impairment and treatment patterns in patients with postherpetic neuralgia. Age Ageing 35:135–137
Veetil BM, Myasoedova E, Matteson EL et al (2013) Incidence and time trends of herpes zoster in rheumatoid arthritis: a population-based cohort study. Arthritis Care Res 65:854–861
Volpi A, Gatti A, Pica F et al (2008) Clinical and psychosocial correlates of post-herpetic neuralgia. J Med Virol 80:1646–1652
Watson CPN, Deck JH, Morshead C et al (1991) Post herpetic neuralgia: further post mortem studies of cases with and without pain. Pain 44:105–117
Weinberg A, Zhang JH, Oxman MN et al (2009) VZV-specific immune responses to Herpes Zoster in elderly participants in a trial of a clinically effective Herpes Zoster Vaccine. J Infect Dis 200:1068–1077
Whitley RJ, Weiss H, Gnann JW Jr et al (1996) Acyclovir with and without prednisone for the treatment of herpes zoster: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Ann Intern Med 125:376–383
Whitley RJ, Shukla S, Crooks RJ (1998) The identification of risk factors associated with persistent pain following herpes zoster. J Infect Dis 178:S71–S75
Wilson JB (1986) Thirty one years of herpes zoster in a rural practice. BMJ 293:1349–1351
Winthrop KL, Baddley JW, Chen L et al (2013) Association between the initiation of anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy and the risk of herpes zoster. JAMA 309:887–895
Wood MJ (1995) For debate: how should zoster trials be conducted? J Antimicrob Chemother 36:1089–1101
Wood MJ, Johnson RW, McKendrick MW et al (1994) A randomized trial of acyclovir for 7 days or 21 days with and without prednisolone for treatment of acute herpes zoster. N Engl J Med 330:896–900
Wood MJ, Kay R, Dworkin RH et al (1996) Oral acyclovir therapy accelerates pain resolution in patients with herpes zoster: a meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials. Clin Infect Dis 22:341–347
Yawn BP, Saddier P, Wollan P et al (2007) A population-based study of the incidence and complication rates of herpes zoster before zoster vaccine introduction. Mayo Clin Proc 82:1341–1349
Yawn BP, Wollan PC, Kurland MJ et al (2011) Herpes zoster recurrences more frequent than previously reported. Mayo Clin Proc 86:88–93
Yawn BP, Gilden D (2013) The global epidemiology of herpes zoster. Neurology 81:928–930
Yenikomshian MA, Guignard AP, Haguinet F et al (2015) The epidemiology of herpes zoster and its complications in medicare cancer patients. BMC Infect Dis 15:106
Yun H, Xie F, Delzell E, Le C et al (2015) Risks of herpes zoster in patients with rheumatoid arthritis according to biologic disease-modifying therapy. Arthritis Care Res 67:731–736
Zhang JX, Joesoef RM, Bialek S et al (2013) Association of physical trauma with risk of herpes zoster among medicare beneficiaries in the United States. J Infect Dis 207:1007–1011
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schmader, K.E., Dworkin, R.H. (2017). The Epidemiology and Natural History of Herpes Zoster and Postherpetic Neuralgia. In: Watson, C., Gershon, A., Oxman, M. (eds) Herpes Zoster: Postherpetic Neuralgia and Other Complications. Adis, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44348-5_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44348-5_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Adis, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44346-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44348-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)