Chickenpox taking them to "chickenpox parties". Doctors counter that children are safer getting the vaccine, which is a weakened form of the virus, rather than getting the disease, which can be fatal. Humans are the only known species that the disease affects naturally. However, chickenpox has been caused in other animals, such as primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas. Chickenpox Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over. It usually starts on the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control The office of the Chief Scientist oversees the seven Disease Programmes, the Microbiology Coordination Section and the Scientific Advice Coordination Section. The Disease Programmes focus on specific disease groups: Two shared-resource units – Surveillance and Response Support, and Public Health Capacity and Communication – provide specialist expertise. The Information and Communication Technologies Unit provides infrastructure, application development and support. The Resource Management and Coordination Unit controls ECDC’s human and financial resources. ECDC publishes numerous scientific and technical reports covering various issues related to the prevention and control of communicable diseases. Comprehensive reports from key technical and scientific meetings are also