chickenpox

Sun 'stops chickenpox spreading'

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Exposure to sunlight may help impede the spread of chickenpox, claim researchers.

The University of London team found chickenpox less common in regions with high UV levels, reports the journal Virology.

Sunlight may inactivate viruses on the skin, making it harder to pass on.However, other experts say that other factors, including temperature, humidity, and even living conditions are equally likely to play a role.

The varicella-zoster virus is highly contagious, while it can be spread through the coughs and sneezes in the early stages of the infection, the main source is contact with the trademark rash of blisters and spots.

Pollution

UV light has long been known to inactivate viruses, and Dr Phil Rice, from St George's, University of London, who led the research, believes that this holds the key why chickenpox is less common and less easily passed from person to person in tropical countries.

It could also help explain why chickenpox is more common in the colder seasons in temperate countries such as the UK - as people have less exposure to sunlight, he said.

He examined data from 25 earlier studies on varicella-zoster virus in a variety of countries around the world, and plotted these data against a range of climatic factors.

This showed an obvious link between UV levels and chickenpox virus prevalence.

Even initially confusing results could be explained - the peak incidence of chickenpox in India and Sri Lanka is during the hottest, driest and sunniest season.

However, Dr Rice found that, due to atmospheric pollution, UV rays were actually much lower during this season compared with the rainier seasons.

He said: "No-one had considered UV as a factor before, but when I looked at the epidemiological studies they showed a good correlation between global latitude and the presence of the virus."

Professor Judy Breuer from University College London said that while UV could well be contributing to the differences in the prevalence of chickenpox between tropical and temperate regions, there were other factors which needed to be considered.

She said: "Lots of things aside from UV could affect it - heat, humidity and social factors such as overcrowding.

"It's quite possible that UV is having an effect, but we don't have any firm evidence showing the extent this is happening."

herpes

Grieving mother's herpes warning

Baby Jennifer died after contracting the Herpes virus from her mother Ruth The mother of a baby who died after contracting herpes from her cold sores is campaigning for more awareness of how dangerous it can be to newborns. Jennifer Schofield was 11 days old when her organs failed after contracting the Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), through either kisses or breastfeeding. Ruth Schofield, 35, of Lancaster, wants to warn mothers about the disease, which kills about six babies a year. A coroner recorded a narrative verdict into her death on Thursday. The inquest in Lancaster heard that Jennifer died in November 2006 from the type of HSV usually passed on through a cold sore. Miss Schofield probably caught HSV in the late stages of her pregnancy after she developed flu-like symptoms days before giving birth, the inquest heard. FROM BBC RADIO 5 LIVE More from BBC Radio 5 live She developed mouth ulcers after Jennifer was born and was given a mouthwash by her GP, but HSV was not diagnosed. It was then that Jennifer also became unwell and was admitted to hospital with a temperature, Miss Schofield said in an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live. "She was continually sleeping and was terribly lethargic," she said. But 11 days after Jennifer's birth Miss Schofield was told her baby was going to die. "The doctors sat me down and they said, 'I'm really sorry but she can't fight anymore. Do you want to hold her and watch her die?' It broke my heart to know what she died of - how could this happen? Ruth Schofield "The hardest thing any woman can do is watch her baby die." It was only at the post-mortem examination that doctors discovered the baby had died of HSV. "She should be here today. It's such a treatable disease. I didn't know what I had," Miss Schofield said. "It broke my heart to know what she died of - how could this happen? "For the grieving process it was very hard to accept... It took me a very long time to accept I wasn't to blame." Miss Schofield has written to the prime minister asking for more literature to be put in clinics about the illness