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Common name: Chicken pox

Scientific name: Varicella-zoster virus

Genus : Varicellaovirus

Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/chickenpox/about/index.html#:~:text=Chickenpox%20is%20a%20highly%20contagious%20disease%20caused%20by%20varicella%2Dzoster,chickenpox%20will%20also%20get%20infected.

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The National Vaccine Information Center explains that it believes Chickenpox was originally found in Africa "millions of years ago" (NVIC, 2023). The infectious agent that causes chickenpox is a virus called Varicella-zoster virus, which is part of the herpesviridae family (Leung et al., 2024). This means that the virus is a herpes virus.

Resources:

Marin, M., & Leung, J. (2023, May 1). Varicella / Chickenpox | CDC Yellow Book 2024. Wwwnc.cdc.gov. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2024/infections-diseases/varicella-chickenpox

National Vaccine Information Center. (2023, July 30). History of Chickenpox - National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC). Www.nvic.org. https://www.nvic.org/disease-vaccine/chickenpox/history

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As stated in the point of origin, chicken pox was found in Africa. The National Vaccine Information Center stated that in 1951, chickenpox was not added to the "Minimum list for national reporting." Yet, states were still reporting cases and casualties caused by the disease. There is not a clear timeline of the disease spread. What we do know is the years people took into researching the diseases around the time it was studied more in the 1700s-1800s to 1996 when the chickenpox vaccine was created and the CDC advised people to get it. It is stated that in the early 1990s, about 4 million people had chickenpox, and around 10,500-13,500 were hospitalized due to the disease.

Resources:

Impact of U.S. Chickenpox Vaccination Program | Chickenpox (Varicella) | CDC

History of Chickenpox - National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC)

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Before the chickenpox shot was considered a necessary vaccine for people to get, the illness was treated as a common thing, and many chose to do remedies such as cold baths and keeping their children at home to prevent spreading. A medical advancement that was created for this was the varicella vaccine. Currently, they are testing a gene editing software called "cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and CRISPR/Cas9" (Oliver et al., 2020). The point of this is to allow researchers to see exactly where the virus is targeting and how to attack its genome.

Resources:

https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2020-08-18-cryo-em-study-yields-new-clues-chicken-pox-infection#:~:text=Oliver%20added%2C%20%E2%80%9CIt%20was%20only,and%20of%20microbiology%20and%20immunology.

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Virulence is known as how much this virus damages the host. The CDC states that chickenpox is more virulent in "adults, newborns, and individuals with weakened immune systems" (Leung et al.,2025). They further state that virulence with chickenpox changes based on the scenario; for example, if you are an adult getting chickenpox, it is very dangerous as the symptoms can worsen and become pneumonia. Overall it is all based on the person who gets the disease.

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The government handled chickenpox by focusing on creating a vaccine in 1995 to prevent the spread of the illness. The innovation that was taken to control chickenpox was the creation of the chickenpox shot and making it a requirement for children to get it to prevent the disease. As well as creating other medications to help with the itching and breakouts that happen when you contract the disease. Due to how rapidly the spread of chickenpox, better leadership could have helped in spreading awareness of the disease and how to stop the spread.

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Stop the Spread Infographic FINAL APPROVED

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The social impact of chickenpox was that when an individual found out they had it, they would have to self-isolate. This could also mean missing school and or work for the time being. This correlates to the sociological impact it has, as explained, people had to self-isolate until they were no longer contagious. It changes a person's normal life schedule. Luckily, after much research and time was put into understanding what causes chickenpox and how to take preventive measures, society has learned to take this infection seriously and to make sure to seek medical help when having symptoms.