It's all pretty heady stuff for Kwolek, who came up with Kevlar as a flameproof, ultra-light fiber to reinforce the tread of radial tires â not save lives. At the time, there were fears of a future global energy shortage, and DuPont wanted something that would make tires lighter and cars more fuel-efficient.
Risk Factors. The varicella-zoster virus is responsible for both chickenpox and herpes zoster, but its method of infection is different in both diseases. 1  Both the active varicella and zoster form of the virus can cause chickenpox.2  The shingles virus in its latent (inactive) form is never contagious.eveloping Shingles. Shingles itself can develop only from a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus in a person who has previously had chickenpox. In other words, shingles itself is never transmitted from one person to another either in the air or through direct exposure to the blisters.
Both chickenpox and shingles are caused by the same virus, the varicella zoster virus (VZV). After a person has had chickenpox, the virus rests in the bodyâs nerves permanently. Approximately 30% of all people who have been infected with chickenpox will later develop herpes zoster, commonly known as zoster or shingles.