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Conventional wisdom holds that recurrent shingles (herpes zoster) is exceedingly rare among immunocompetent people. To determine whether this belief is valid, Mayo Clinic researchers analyzed the medical records of all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota. In a previous publication, the researchers reported that 1669 people had developed shingles from 1996 through 2001 (JW Gen Med Nov 15 2007). Now, they report the incidence of shingles recurrence in the same population, during average follow-up of nearly 8 years.
Ninety-five people had recurrences; 87 had one recurrence, and 8 had more than one. The 8-year recurrence rate was 6.2%. This incidence was similar to the expected incidence for a first episode in this population, according to da…