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Adults have about a 20% lifetime risk for developing herpes zoster (HZ), which, mercifully, tends not to recur. The major predisposition is age-related waning immunity to varicella zoster virus (VZV); more than half of all cases occur in patients older than 60. In this age group, there is a substantial incidence of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), defined as pain persisting or developing after the rash subsides. Researchers tested the hypothesis that intense reexposure to VZV might help reawaken immunity and reduce the frequency of HZ in the older population.
More than 38,000 immunocompetent adults aged 60 or older were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of an experimental zoster vaccine. This vaccine is far more potent than t…