Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsShinglesHow Common Is It?By EthnicityBy Age and GenderMortality RatesEarly Treatment and Vaccine
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Shingles
How Common Is It?
By Ethnicity
By Age and Gender
Mortality Rates
Early Treatment and Vaccine
This article will highlight the important facts and statistics you should know about shingles, including how common it is, who is at risk, mortality rates, early treatment, and prevention.
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Shingles Overview
The primary symptom of shingles is an extremely painful, burning, and/or tingling rash. A shingles rash typically shows up as a stripe or band across only one side of the face or body. After a few days, the rash usually turns into a crop of fluid-filled blisters that crust over within about a week.
Other shingles symptoms may include:
An estimated 10% to 18% of people who get shingles develop a complication calledpostherpetic neuralgia(PHN). PHN causes severe, long-term nerve pain in the area of the original shingles rash.
Other complications of shingles can include:
Shingles and ChickenpoxAnyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing shingles at some point. However, many people who have had chickenpox weren’t aware of it at the time. Over 99% of U.S. adults who were born before 1980 have had chickenpox at some point.
Shingles and Chickenpox
Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk of developing shingles at some point. However, many people who have had chickenpox weren’t aware of it at the time. Over 99% of U.S. adults who were born before 1980 have had chickenpox at some point.
What Shingles Looks Like
How Common Is Shingles?
Shingles is extremely common in the United States. Here are a few key statistics about the prevalence of herpes zoster among American adults:
Among young adults, shingles cases appear to have increased in recent years. Between 2008 and 2016, shingles rates among people ages 30 to 49 doubled, increasing from just over 2.0 to just over 4.0 cases per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, rates of new shingles cases among older adults have appeared to plateau since 2008.
Anyone can get shingles, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, or gender. However, research suggests that herpes zoster is significantly less common among Black people in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes Black Americans are about 50% less likely than White Americans to develop shingles.A 2020 analysis that included data from international studies found that Black people were around 31% less likely to be diagnosed with shingles.
A 2018survey of people receiving care through a health maintenance organization in Northern California found Black respondents were approximately 25% less likely to get shingles than their White counterparts.Compared to White people in the study, therisk of shingleswas 16% greater for Latinx people and 17% greater for people who were Asian or Pacific Islander.
Shingles is somewhat more common among females than males. One study suggested U.S. females face a 33% higher risk of developing herpes zoster.Another study found that, among all age groups, overall annual shingles rates ranged from 3.66 among men to 5.25 among women per 1,000 person years.
The risk of developing herpes zoster andshingles complicationsincreases significantly as you age. About half of new shingles cases are among people aged 60 and older.
Below are the average lifetime prevalence rates of shingles among older Americans, according to a study inThe Gerontologist. These numbers reflect the percentage of people in each age group who reported having had shingles at some point in their life.
What Are the Mortality Rates for Shingles?
Here’s what you need to know about shingles mortality rates and hospitalization:
Shingles Early Treatment and Prevention
There is no cure for shingles. However, if administered within 72 hours of a shingles diagnosis,antiviral medicationscan help to shorten the length of the illness and reduce its effects.
Shingles is a vaccine-preventable disease. It is recommended that people who have a higher risk of shingles (including all adults age 50 and over and immunocompromised adults age 19 and over) get two doses ofShingrix(therecombinant zoster vaccine). Theshingles vaccineworks to prevent both shingles and related complications like PHN.
Shingrix Vaccine EffectivenessShingrix is extremely effective in reducing the risk of getting shingles and complications such as PHN. It is also effective in reducing the severity of the disease if shingles does occur.In healthy individuals over the age of 50, Shingrix is more than 90% effective in preventing disease. In immunocompromised adults, the vaccine is 68% to 91% effective in preventing disease.Studies show that immunity stays strong for at least seven years.
Shingrix Vaccine Effectiveness
Shingrix is extremely effective in reducing the risk of getting shingles and complications such as PHN. It is also effective in reducing the severity of the disease if shingles does occur.In healthy individuals over the age of 50, Shingrix is more than 90% effective in preventing disease. In immunocompromised adults, the vaccine is 68% to 91% effective in preventing disease.Studies show that immunity stays strong for at least seven years.
Shingrix is extremely effective in reducing the risk of getting shingles and complications such as PHN. It is also effective in reducing the severity of the disease if shingles does occur.
In healthy individuals over the age of 50, Shingrix is more than 90% effective in preventing disease. In immunocompromised adults, the vaccine is 68% to 91% effective in preventing disease.Studies show that immunity stays strong for at least seven years.
Should You Get the Shingles Vaccine?
Chickenpox Vaccine: What You Should Know
Summary
Shingles causes fewer than 100 deaths in the United States each year. Among people who are hospitalized for herpes zoster, about one-third areimmunocompromisedor elderly. The Shingrix vaccine is highly effective in preventing shingles and its complications. It is recommended for people age 50 and over and for those who are immunocompromised at age 19 and over.
18 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles (herpes zoster).MedlinePlus.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles surveillance, trends, deaths.John AR, Canaday DH.Herpes zoster in the older adult.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):811-826. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.016Johnson BH, Palmer L, Gatwood J, Lenhart G, Kawai K, Acosta CJ.Annual incidence rates of herpes zoster among an immunocompetent population in the United States.BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:502. doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1262-8National Institute on Aging.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of herpes zoster (shingles).Marra F, Parhar K, Huang B, Vadlamudi N.Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a meta-analysis.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020;7(1):ofaa005. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa005Baxter R, Bartlett J, Fireman B, et al.Long-term effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine in preventing shingles: a cohort study.Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(1):161-169. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx245Kang H, Ailshire J, Crimmins E.The prevalence of shingles among older adults in the U.S.Gerontologist. 2015;56(3):48. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw162.199Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention of herpes zoster - recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treating shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles vaccination: what everyone should know.Maltz F, Fidler B.Shingrix: a new herpes zoster vaccine.P T. 2019;44(7):406-433.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chickenpox vaccination: what everyone should know.
18 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles (herpes zoster).MedlinePlus.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles surveillance, trends, deaths.John AR, Canaday DH.Herpes zoster in the older adult.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):811-826. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.016Johnson BH, Palmer L, Gatwood J, Lenhart G, Kawai K, Acosta CJ.Annual incidence rates of herpes zoster among an immunocompetent population in the United States.BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:502. doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1262-8National Institute on Aging.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of herpes zoster (shingles).Marra F, Parhar K, Huang B, Vadlamudi N.Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a meta-analysis.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020;7(1):ofaa005. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa005Baxter R, Bartlett J, Fireman B, et al.Long-term effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine in preventing shingles: a cohort study.Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(1):161-169. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx245Kang H, Ailshire J, Crimmins E.The prevalence of shingles among older adults in the U.S.Gerontologist. 2015;56(3):48. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw162.199Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention of herpes zoster - recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treating shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles vaccination: what everyone should know.Maltz F, Fidler B.Shingrix: a new herpes zoster vaccine.P T. 2019;44(7):406-433.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chickenpox vaccination: what everyone should know.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles (herpes zoster).MedlinePlus.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles surveillance, trends, deaths.John AR, Canaday DH.Herpes zoster in the older adult.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):811-826. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.016Johnson BH, Palmer L, Gatwood J, Lenhart G, Kawai K, Acosta CJ.Annual incidence rates of herpes zoster among an immunocompetent population in the United States.BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:502. doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1262-8National Institute on Aging.Shingles.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of herpes zoster (shingles).Marra F, Parhar K, Huang B, Vadlamudi N.Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a meta-analysis.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020;7(1):ofaa005. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa005Baxter R, Bartlett J, Fireman B, et al.Long-term effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine in preventing shingles: a cohort study.Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(1):161-169. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx245Kang H, Ailshire J, Crimmins E.The prevalence of shingles among older adults in the U.S.Gerontologist. 2015;56(3):48. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw162.199Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention of herpes zoster - recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treating shingles (herpes zoster).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles vaccination: what everyone should know.Maltz F, Fidler B.Shingrix: a new herpes zoster vaccine.P T. 2019;44(7):406-433.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chickenpox vaccination: what everyone should know.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles (herpes zoster).
MedlinePlus.Shingles.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Signs and symptoms of shingles (herpes zoster).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Complications of shingles (herpes zoster).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About shingles (herpes zoster).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles surveillance, trends, deaths.
John AR, Canaday DH.Herpes zoster in the older adult.Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2017;31(4):811-826. doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.07.016
Johnson BH, Palmer L, Gatwood J, Lenhart G, Kawai K, Acosta CJ.Annual incidence rates of herpes zoster among an immunocompetent population in the United States.BMC Infect Dis. 2015;15:502. doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1262-8
National Institute on Aging.Shingles.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Clinical overview of herpes zoster (shingles).
Marra F, Parhar K, Huang B, Vadlamudi N.Risk factors for herpes zoster infection: a meta-analysis.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020;7(1):ofaa005. doi:10.1093/ofid/ofaa005
Baxter R, Bartlett J, Fireman B, et al.Long-term effectiveness of the live zoster vaccine in preventing shingles: a cohort study.Am J Epidemiol. 2018;187(1):161-169. doi:10.1093/aje/kwx245
Kang H, Ailshire J, Crimmins E.The prevalence of shingles among older adults in the U.S.Gerontologist. 2015;56(3):48. doi:10.1093/geront/gnw162.199
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Prevention of herpes zoster - recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treating shingles (herpes zoster).
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Shingles vaccination: what everyone should know.
Maltz F, Fidler B.Shingrix: a new herpes zoster vaccine.P T. 2019;44(7):406-433.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Chickenpox vaccination: what everyone should know.
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