Shingles jab likely for over-70s

Everyone in the UK between the ages of 70 and 79 is likely to be offered the vaccine which protects against shingles.

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a painful skin rash caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), the same virus which causes chickenpox.

After a bout of chickenpox, the virus remains hidden in the body. It can reappear later in life causing shingles.

In the UK, more than 250,000 people each year develop shingles. Around a quarter of UK adults will develop shingles in their lifetime.

It is most common in people over the age of 50, and in those who's immune systems are weakened due to another illness or drug treatment.

Around 1 in 4 people with shingles develop postherpetic neuralgia, a condition which can cause severe pain for weeks or even months after the rash has cleared.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended that people in their seventies be offered the vaccine if it can be shown to be cost-effective. An estimated four million people in the UK would benefit.

In the United States the vaccine is offered to people from the age of sixty.

Minister for Public Health Gillian Merron said: "Shingles is an unpleasant illness which can be very serious, especially for older people."

"A vaccination programme would be good news for those in their 70s. It would improve people’s quality of life by offering protection against this illness."

This article was published on Mon 1 February 2010