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Communicable Disease: Chickenpox

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Communicable Disease: Chickenpox Grand Canyon University: NRS 427v
December 10, 2014

Communicable Disease: Chickenpox The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) defines a communicable disease as “an illness caused by an infectious agent or its toxins that occurs through the direct or indirect transmission of the infectious agent or its products from an infected individual or via an animal, vector or the inanimate environment to a susceptible animal or human host.” There are numerous communicable diseases being studied, treated, prevented, and diagnosed around the world. For the purpose of this paper, one communicable disease in particular will be examined, chickenpox. This paper will address chickenpox as a communicable disease, determinants of health leading to chickenpox, how chickenpox relates to the epidemiologic triangle, the role of the community nurse in their treatment and prevention of chickenpox, and organizations involved on the national level.
Epidemiology
Chickenpox is a reaction to a virus by the name of varicella-zoster virus. The varicella-zoster virus is also known to cause a reaction called shingles later in the adult life. Chickenpox causes patients to have an itchy blister-like rash. Other symptoms that are a fever, sleepiness, decrease in appetite, and headache (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). These symptoms can develop a day or two before the rash (CDC, 2012). Chickenpox can spread easily from an infected person to others who have never had chickenpox or received the chickenpox vaccine (Papadopoulos, A., 2014). The virus can also infect vaccinated people, but their signs and symptoms are usually deceased (CDC, 2012). Chickenpox occurs November through April most often (Papadopoulos, A., 2014). Chickenpox spreads through the air most commonly. It can also be spread through touching or breathing

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