Shingles (Herpes Zoster)

Shingles, also called herpes zoster, is caused by the varicella zoster virus, the same virus that causes chickenpox. After chickenpox clears, the virus stays dormant in nerve tissue and can reactivate decades later, usually as a painful rash with blisters on one side of the body or face. The CDC estimates that about 1 in 3 Americans will develop shingles in their lifetime, with about 1 million cases each year.

The most common complication is postherpetic neuralgia, nerve pain that lingers for months or years after the rash heals. Shingles near the eye can threaten vision. Risk rises with age and with a weakened immune system, including from medicines that suppress immunity.

Prevention changed in recent years. The CDC recommends two doses of the recombinant vaccine Shingrix for adults 50 and older and for immunocompromised adults 19 and older. The older live vaccine, Zostavax, is no longer available in the United States as of November 18, 2020.

Shingles shows up in legal claims in a few ways:

• Vaccine injury claims. Lawsuits allege that the live Zostavax vaccine caused shingles or other injuries in some recipients. Federal cases are consolidated as MDL 2848 in Pennsylvania.
• Drug side effects. Immune-suppressing drugs, including JAK inhibitors such as Xeljanz, list shingles among their risks, and a known side effect can be part of a failure-to-warn claim.
• A different kind of shingles. Roofing shingles have their own class actions, such as the CertainTeed Horizon shingles settlement.

For how vaccine and drug injury cases are organized, see what is MDL and class action vs. mass tort. This page is general information, not medical advice.