<P> Prenatal diagnosis of fetal varicella infection can be performed using ultrasound, though a delay of 5 weeks following primary maternal infection is advised . A PCR (DNA) test of the mother's amniotic fluid can also be performed, though the risk of spontaneous abortion due to the amniocentesis procedure is higher than the risk of the baby's developing fetal varicella syndrome . </P> <P> Exposure to VZV in a healthy child initiates the production of host immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), and immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies; IgG antibodies persist for life and confer immunity . Cell - mediated immune responses are also important in limiting the scope and the duration of primary varicella infection . After primary infection, VZV is hypothesized to spread from mucosal and epidermal lesions to local sensory nerves . VZV then remains latent in the dorsal ganglion cells of the sensory nerves . Reactivation of VZV results in the clinically distinct syndrome of herpes zoster (i.e., shingles), postherpetic neuralgia, and sometimes Ramsay Hunt syndrome type II . Varicella zoster can affect the arteries in the neck and head, producing stroke, either during childhood, or after a latency period of many years . </P> <P> After a chickenpox infection, the virus remains dormant in the body's nerve tissues . The immune system keeps the virus at bay, but later in life, usually in an adult, it can be reactivated and cause a different form of the viral infection called shingles (also known as herpes zoster). The United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) suggests that every adult over the age of 60 years get the herpes zoster vaccine . </P> <P> Shingles affects one in five adults infected with chickenpox as children, especially those who are immune - suppressed, particularly from cancer, HIV, or other conditions . Stress can bring on shingles as well, although scientists are still researching the connection . Shingles are most commonly found in adults over the age of 60 who were diagnosed with chickenpox when they were under the age of 1 . </P>

Where does chicken pox live in the body