herpes varicella zoster
- noun
- /ˈhɜrpiːz ˌværɪˈsɛlə ˈzɔstər/
- Specialized
:
herpes varicela zóster
- The herpes varicella zoster virus can reactivate later in life and cause shingles.
Examples
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The herpes varicella zoster virus is responsible for chickenpox.
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After recovering from chickenpox, the herpes varicella zoster can remain dormant.
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Children are commonly exposed to herpes varicella zoster, leading to chickenpox outbreaks.
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Vaccination can prevent infections caused by herpes varicella zoster.
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Vaccination can prevent infections caused by herpes varicella zoster.
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Children are commonly exposed to herpes varicella zoster, leading to chickenpox outbreaks.
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The herpes varicella zoster virus can reactivate later in life and cause shingles.
Synonyms
1
4.9
A germ that causes chickenpox and shingles in people
A virus that causes chickenpox and shingles in people
A virus that causes the painful skin rash shingles
Surface Forms
Morphology
The name is transparently compositional: 'herpes' signals a herpesvirus and 'varicella zoster' names the specific disease agents (varicella = chickenpox, zoster = shingles), so the overall meaning 'a herpesvirus causing chickenpox and shingles' follows directly from the parts. This follows standard biomedical naming conventions and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent medical terms.
Etymology
Herpes varicella zoster may come from older words: herpes meaning 'to creep' because the rash can seem to creep across the skin, varicella meaning 'small pox', and zoster meaning 'belt' because shingles often appears as a band on one side of the body. So the name fits the virus that causes both chickenpox and the band of pain of shingles.