What Causes Shingles?
7. Statistics
Ninety-five percent of adults in the United States have antibodies to VZV and are therefore vulnerable to reactivation of the infection that causes shingles. It is estimated that about 4% of patients will develop another episode of shingles at a later point in life. Recurrent shingles are almost only seen in individuals who have a weakened immune system such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (25%) and those with a heart or kidney transplant (7% to 9%).
It is estimated that there are about 1 million cases of shingles in the United States annually. Globally, the incidence is thought to be similar to that in the United States. Shingles is rare in younger patients except those who are immunocompromised. Less than 10% of shingles patients are younger than 20 while only 5% are younger than 15 years old.
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