Varicella zoster infection in adults: a preventable disease.

aricella zoster virus infection is responsible for two major distinct clinical conditions: primary VZV infec-tion causes varicella (i.e., chickenpox), and reactivation of the virus causes herpes zoster (i.e., shingles). Varicella is a common pediatric infection with a usually benign course and outcome. Primary varicella in adults is a rare dis-ease, but it has a high rate of complica-tions with pneumonia being the most common, as described in this issue of