Varicella zoster: an update on current treatment options and future perspectives.

Introduction: Varicella zoster virus is a highly contagious virus that causes a primary infection known as varicella (chickenpox) that may reactivate years later to cause herpes zoster (HZ or shingles). After shingles heal, patients may develop post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), neuropathic pain syndrome that can cause significant suffering for years and is often refractory to treatment. Areas covered: The wide range of treatment and management options for varicella, HZ and PHN are reviewed and discussed. PubMed was the database used for the literature search. Expert opinion: Antiviral therapy effectively treats acute varicella and HZ. However, PHN is still difficult to manage, especially with the numerous treatment measures that do not work consistently in all patients. The best approach is to prevent the complication from occurring in the first place by preventing HZ with the HZ vaccine, which have decreased the burden of illness caused by VZ and the incidence of HZ. Unlike the varicella vaccine, the uptake...