Principal Investigator: Christine Johnston, MD, MPH

Study Description:
The purpose of this study is to learn more about the immune response to the shingles vaccine by studying the body's natural immune response to a shingles outbreak. Shingles is caused by varicallea zoster virus (VZV) which also causes chickenpox. After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus stays in the body in a dormant (inactive) state. For reasons that are not fully understood, the virus can reactivate years later, causing shingles.

The study will involve four visits over a four-month period and will involve blood draws and a total of eight skin biopsies at two visits – four of them will be from a healed shingles rash area. We use lidocaine to numb the areas before taking the biopsies, and they typically heal within a few days.

Eligibility Criteria:

• Men and women
• Aged 18 or older
• Have an active shingles rash

Exclusions (conditions which would prevent a volunteer from participating in this study):

• HIV positive, Hepatitis C positive, or an active infection with Hepatitis B
• Impairment of the immune system

Location:
University of Washington Virology Research Clinic
908 Jefferson St, 11th floor
Seattle, WA 98104

Compensation:
$800