What Is Chicken Pox?
Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky
1. Chickenpox
Chicken pox is an infection that is caused by the varicella zoster virus. The disease is also sometimes called varicella. It is a highly contagious disease that most often occurs in children, although some adults will also catch it. It used to be far more common than it is now, thanks largely due to the introduction of a vaccine.
Such was the prevalence of chicken pox that it was considered almost inevitable that children would get it. Indeed, some parents even threw ‘chicken pox parties’. When a child was infected, other parents were invited to bring their children over. The idea was to help get the disease out of the way so the child would not catch it at a later age.
