Monkeypox is a viral infection. It’s similar to the virus that causes smallpox, and it leads to a similar rash. Fortunately, monkeypox is much less deadly than smallpox. And it does not spread from person to person as easily.
Continue reading
Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) — the same virus that causes chickenpox. Once a person has chickenpox, the virus remains inactive in the body and can re-emerge at any time as shingles.
It is more common in older people and anyone with a weakened immune system. Lisa had been diagnosed several years earlier with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a form of arthritis in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues.
Continue reading