Shingles prevention is now a shot away: Merck

After being approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May this year, Zostavax, a vaccine for fighting shingles, got its formal recommendation from the U.S. government advisory panel on Wednesday.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices suggested that Americans over the age of 60 should receive Zostavax. In U.S. the disease affects an estimated 2 in every 10 people in their lifetime.

Researchers estimate the vaccine could prevent 250,000 cases of shingles that occur in the United States each year and significantly reduce the severity of the disease in another 250,000 cases annually.

Manufactured by Merck & Co, the vaccine Zostavax, is recommended for people 60 years of age and older who have had chickenpox but who have not had shingles.

Shingles is a painful skin disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. The disease causes occurance of painful blisters on various parts of the body. Early signs of shingles include burning or shooting pain and tingling or itching on the affected area.

After an attack of chickenpox, the virus lies dormant in the nerve tissue. As age progresses the possibility of the virus reappearing in the form of shingles increases.

Although the disease is most common in people over age 50, if you have had chickenpox, you are at risk for developing shingles.

Shingles is also common in people with weakened immune systems from HIV infection, chemotherapy or radiation treatment, transplant operations, and stress.

The drug priced at $US 150 asserts prevention of the resurfacing of the virus. Merck claims that a single shot of Zostavax administered at age 60 helped enhance the body’s imunity system.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and other institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) conducted shingles research in NIH laboratories.

Clinical tests revealed that Zostavax reduced the risk of developing shingles by 51 percent and also alleviated symptoms in patients who suffered from outbreaks.

However, the vaccine is not recommended for people whose immune systems are compromised, such as those with HIV/AIDS, or patients receiving immunosuppressant therapy, the researchers warned.