The photo below looks like a fried egg, doesn't it? Well, it is actually an electron micrograph of the Varicella zoster virus. This virus is the cause of chickenpox and a painful rash called shingles. Another name for this virus is Herpes zoster. It is a cousin to the Herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores. Both Herpes viruses have the tendency to hook into the DNA of nerve tissue and lie dormant for years or even for a lifetime. Then through some reduction in immunity or other stimulation that we don't understand, the virus which has been in the nerve cell since that person had chickenpox as a child, can become active and reproduce itself . When Herpes zoster does this, the virus reproduces in the nerve cell, and is transported inside the nerve cell to the skin where it then reproduces more and causes the painful rash known as shingles.
