Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella zoster virus.
It can cause serious health complications, especially in people with chronic diseases and weak immune systems.
You usually get chickenpox by breathing in the varicella virus that has been coughed or sneezed into the air, or by direct contact with the fluid in the blisters. Although rare, you can also get chickenpox from direct contact with the shingles rash (touching the fluid in the blisters).
Chickenpox is highly contagious. If you have chickenpox, you will be contagious (able to spread the virus) from up to 2 days before the red spots appear and until around 5 days after rash appears and until vesicles have formed crusts.
You will stop being contagious when there are no new blisters or moist crusts forming on your body.
A high temperature, aches and pains, and generally feeling unwell, loss of appetite, headaches, red itchy and raised lumps, red spots, and blisters.
Bacterial infection of skin blisters, scarring, and in rare cases pneumonia (lung infection), meningitis or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain or the lining of the brain). Chickenpox can be fatal for people who have immune problems.
If your chickenpox blisters become infected see your healthcare professional.
Children should receive the chickenpox vaccine as part of their routine childhood vaccinations.
Adolescents and adults who have not already been vaccinated or had the disease should consider getting the chickenpox vaccine to avoid catching chickenpox as an adult when symptoms can be more severe.
Women planning pregnancy should get their immunity checked to see if they have had the disease in the past and are now protected. If not, they should consider getting vaccinated against chickenpox. If a pregnant woman gets chickenpox while in the first or early second trimester of pregnancy, there is a small chance the baby could be born with birth defects.
Pregnant women who become infected with chickenpox are also at increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening complications – 10 to 20 per cent of pregnant women who get chickenpox develop pneumonia.
For detailed information, including timings, refer to the WA Immunisation Schedule or speak to a health professional.
