What is chickenpox?

Also known as: chicken pox, varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection.

Chickenpox is a highly contagious viral infection that causes itchy spots or rashes in children who haven’t had the disease or been vaccinated against it.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM