Beijing Business Daily (Reporter Yao Qian) From February 28th to March 6th, the International Federation on Aging jointly launched the Shingles Awareness Week, which aims to call on all sectors of society to pay attention to herpes zoster, encourage early prevention, reduce morbidity, and work together to promote the health of all human beings.
Herpes zoster is an infectious disease that is most common in middle-aged and elderly people aged 50 and above. About 99.5% of adults aged 50 and above have varicella-zoster, which causes herpes zoster, latent in their bodies. Virus. In China, there are about 1.56 million new cases of herpes zoster in people aged 50 and over each year. Its most common complication, postherpetic neuralgia, often causes severe pain and severely affects the patient’s quality of life. Data show that there are about 4 million patients with post-herpetic neuralgia in my country, 60% have or often have suicidal thoughts, and more than 40% have moderate-severe sleep disturbance and moderate to severe interference with daily life.
According to the latest “Expert Consensus on Herpes Zoster Vaccination” published on March 1, shingles has become a public health problem as my country’s population ages. However, the public’s awareness of herpes zoster disease and prevention awareness is not high. A survey on herpes zoster disease awareness conducted in many countries showed that only 7% of people thought they might have shingles. .
“Herpes zoster is caused by the varicella-zoster virus. People over 50 years old are prone to herpes zoster, and the older they are, the more susceptible they are to the disease and the more serious the condition.” Department of Dermatology, Beijing Hospital Director Chang Jianmin said, “In addition to rash, pain is the most troublesome symptom of shingles. The pain of shingles includes pain in the acute phase and long-term persistent pain caused by post-herpetic neuralgia. The latter can last for a long time. Months or even years will affect the patient’s life in many ways. Therefore, early prevention, early diagnosis and early treatment of shingles are very important.”
Researcher at Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences , Feng Luzhao, deputy dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health, said that the current treatment for herpes zoster is mainly antiviral and symptomatic treatment, and there is no specific drug. Vaccination is the most effective and feasible means of prevention.