National Shingles Foundation

The National Shingles Foundations is a non-profit public charity, formed in 1991, disseminates information and raises funds for research on the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox, shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The varicella-zoster virus first strikes individuals as chickenpox or varicella, a highly contagious disease affecting 95 percent of Americans by age 18. Later, the virus may lie dormant in nerve tissues but, in an estimated one of seven people, may reappear as shingles or herpes zoster. Complications resulting from shingles, a painful outbreak of a rash or blisters on the skin, include post-herpetic neuralgia, which can cause debilitating pain long after the shingles rash has healed. The NSF serves as an information resource to thousands of VZV sufferers, their families, and their physicians. It also sponsors international scientific conferences on VZV and awards research grants to study various aspects of the disease.