where does the shingles virus hide in the body
Shingles Shingles is due to a reactivation of varicella zoster virus (VZV) within a person's body.[1] The disease chickenpox is caused by the initial infection with VZV.[1] Once chickenpox has resolved, the virus may remain inactive in nerve cells.[1] When it reactivates, it travels from the nerve body to the endings in the skin, producing blisters.[7] Risk factors for reactivation include old age, poor immune function, and having had chickenpox before 18 months of age.[1] How the virus remains in the body or subsequently re-activates is not well understood.[1] Exposure to the virus in the blisters can cause chickenpox in someone who has not had it before, but will not trigger shingles.[9] Diagnosis is typically based on a person's signs and symptoms.[3] Varicella zoster virus is not the same as herpes simplex virus; however, they belong to the same family of viruses.[10]
Caudovirales The Caudovirales are an order of viruses also known as the tailed bacteriophages (cauda is Latin for "tail").[1] Under the Baltimore classification scheme, the Caudovirales are group I viruses as they have double stranded DNA (dsDNA) genomes, which can be anywhere from 18,000 base pairs to 500,000 base pairs in length.[2] The virus particles have a distinct shape; each virion has an icosahedral head that contains the viral genome, and is attached to a flexible tail by a connector protein.[2] The order encompasses a wide range of viruses, many of which containing genes of similar nucleotide sequence and function. Some tailed bacteriophage genomes can vary quite significantly in nucleotide sequence, however, even among the same genus. Due to their characteristic structure and possession of potentially homologous genes, it is believed these bacteriophages possess a common origin.[2]