After the primary infection, VZV stays in the body as a latent infection in the sensory nerve ganglia. Reactivation of latent infection causes herpes zoster (shingles). Breakthrough varicella is also contagious, but this refers to infection after vaccination rather than after prior chickenpox. The CDC also notes that second occurrences can happen in vaccinated people and that immunity testing has limitations.

Primary varicella infection generally protects against reinfection, but reinfection with VZV is not well understood and may occur. The article states that health care providers with documented history and/or positive serum antibody titers have developed VZV reinfection after exposure to contagious patients. It also says seropositivity does not always result in protective immunity against subsequent varicella infection.

For most people, getting chickenpox once provides immunity for life. A person can get chickenpox more than once, but it is uncommon. Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). It mainly spreads from unvaccinated people with chickenpox to others who have never had the virus.

Recovery from primary varicella infection usually provides immunity for life. In otherwise healthy people, a second occurrence of varicella is uncommon. As with other viral infections, re-exposure to natural (wild-type) varicella may lead to re-infection that boosts antibody titers without causing illness or detectable viremia.

Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease. It spreads mainly from person to person through direct contact with the rash or through the air by respiratory droplets. A person with chickenpox is contagious 1 to 2 days before the rash appears and until all chickenpox lesions have crusted. People who have had chickenpox or received the chickenpox vaccine are much less likely to get chickenpox again, and if they do, the illness is usually milder.

Chickenpox, also called varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The virus spreads when someone with chickenpox coughs or sneezes, releasing infected droplets into the air, and through direct contact with the fluid from the chickenpox blisters. A person is contagious from one to two days before the rash appears until all the blisters have formed scabs. The secondary attack rate for chickenpox is high, with 61–100% of susceptible individuals contracting the disease after being exposed.

Eight patients became clinically reinfected with varicella-zoster virus despite having specific antibody in the blood from three days to six months before illness. The report says that both subclinical varicella and clinical reinfection can occur, and that reinfections are usually mild.

People who have never had chickenpox or received chickenpox vaccine should get 2 doses. Getting vaccinated after you are exposed to someone with chickenpox can prevent the disease or make it less serious and protect you from chickenpox if you are exposed again in the future. A healthcare provider can prescribe a medicine to make chickenpox less severe if you are exposed to chickenpox and do not have immunity against the disease.

CDC recommends 2 doses of varicella vaccine for children, adolescents, and adults who do not have evidence of immunity. ACIP recommends people with no evidence of immunity should get varicella vaccine if they are exposed to varicella or herpes zoster. As with other viral infections, re-exposure to natural varicella may lead to reinfection that boosts antibody titers without causing illness or detectable viremia.

Natural immunity following chickenpox is largely protective against reinfection, but second attacks are rare rather than impossible. The report describes a clinically and laboratory confirmed case of varicella in a patient with a prior history of the illness, supporting that reinfection can occur after previous chickenpox.

The page explains that chickenpox spreads through physical contact, inhalation of air near an infected person, or via surfaces touched by an infected person. It states that the virus is highly contagious, with about 96% of people without immunity from vaccination or previous infection becoming infected after exposure. It also notes that vaccination or previous infection provide immunity, implying that people with such immunity are protected and focuses the risk of transmission on infectious cases, not immune carriers.

Chickenpox is an acute, highly infectious disease caused by Varicella-zoster virus. One attack gives durable immunity and second attacks are rare. People who already had chickenpox and get it again is known as "reinfection". If this happens, a milder form of the illness usually occurs, with fewer symptoms. It is well known that natural immunity following chickenpox is largely protective against reinfection.

A person with active shingles can spread the varicella-zoster virus to someone who has never had chickenpox or never received the chickenpox vaccine. In such cases, the person exposed to the virus might develop chickenpox, not shingles. The virus is spread through direct contact with fluid from the rash blisters caused by shingles. A person is not infectious before blisters appear or after the rash has developed crusts.

Chickenpox spreads easily. It is most contagious on the day before the rash appears. It spreads from person to person through direct contact with the virus. You can get chickenpox if you touch a blister or the liquid from a blister, or the saliva of a person who has chickenpox. Shingles occurs in people who have already had chickenpox, usually many years later. You can catch chickenpox from someone with shingles through contact with their secretions or their skin rash.

The chapter notes that primary varicella infection generally confers lifelong immunity in immunocompetent hosts. It explains that after primary infection, the varicella-zoster virus becomes latent in dorsal root ganglia and may later reactivate as herpes zoster, which itself can be a source of infection for susceptible individuals. However, the text describes transmission from active cases of varicella or zoster and does not identify previously infected, asymptomatic individuals as carriers who transmit varicella after exposure.

WHO describes chickenpox as highly contagious and states that transmission occurs from person-to-person by direct contact or airborne spread of droplets from respiratory secretions or skin lesions of infected people. It notes that infection usually confers lifelong immunity, with reinfections being uncommon. The fact sheet discusses infectious people with active disease as the source of transmission and does not mention immune individuals acting as carriers after contact.

Most people are immune to chickenpox after having the disease. However, although it is not common, second cases of chickenpox can occur, particularly in immunocompromised people. The document also says chickenpox is highly contagious and spreads by direct contact or through the air.

Chickenpox can be spread through contact with droplets from the nose and throat of someone who is infected. The droplets move through the air when the person coughs or sneezes. You can also get chickenpox by touching an infected person’s blisters. A person with chickenpox is contagious (can give it to others) 1 to 2 days before their rash appears and remains contagious until all their blisters are dried and crusted.

Most people who have had chickenpox develop immunity to it for the remainder of their lives. Though uncommon, you can get chickenpox more than once. You may be susceptible to getting the chickenpox virus twice if you had your first case of chickenpox when you were less than 6 months old, your first case was extremely mild, or you have a weakened immune system.

People with chickenpox are infectious from 1–2 days before the rash appears until all blisters have crusted. Most people who have had chickenpox or been vaccinated will not get it again. However, the virus remains in the body and may reactivate later in life to cause shingles. People who have shingles can spread varicella-zoster virus to others who have not had chickenpox or the vaccine, and these people may develop chickenpox.

The article states that after having chickenpox, lifelong immunity is formed and "from an epidemiological point of view, persons who have had the infection do not pose a threat to others." It explicitly adds: "Only sick persons are contagious, and contact of recovered individuals with sick persons carries a negligible risk of transmitting the infection." It notes that although the risk of transmission from recovered contacts is considered extremely low, limiting contacts is recommended for certain high-risk patient groups.

The text explains that people become infectious 1–2 days before the skin rash appears and remain infectious until all blisters have crusted. It then states: "After chickenpox resolves, most people become immune to the virus" and adds: "If you have already been ill with chickenpox, you cannot be a carrier because you have immunity and cannot become infected again." It describes the virus remaining in the body in a latent, non-active form and mentions that in extremely rare cases it may cause a new episode, but does not describe immune people transmitting varicella after contact.

Recovery from primary varicella infection usually results in lifetime immunity. In otherwise healthy persons, a second occurrence of chickenpox is not common, but it can happen, particularly in immunocompromised persons. The page also notes that reexposure to natural varicella may lead to reinfection that boosts antibody titers without causing clinical illness.

It is possible to get chickenpox (varicella) twice, though it is not common. After getting chickenpox, children typically build lifelong immunity and will not get it again. However, rare second cases have been reported and may be more likely in people whose first infection was very mild or who have immunosuppression.

Chickenpox is highly contagious and spreads through the air by respiratory droplets or by direct contact with the fluid from the blisters of an infected person. Once a person has had chickenpox, they usually develop lifelong immunity and do not get it again. In rare cases, chickenpox can occur a second time, especially in people with weakened immune systems.

Most people who have had chickenpox or have been vaccinated against it are immune to chickenpox. It is possible to get chickenpox more than once, but this is rare. A person with chickenpox can spread the virus to others from about one to two days before the rash appears until all blisters have crusted over.

Chickenpox is transmitted through the following routes: direct person-to-person contact; airborne transmission via small respiratory droplets or fluid from blisters; indirect transmission through objects recently contaminated with blister fluid or mucosal secretions. In individuals with chickenpox, the disease can be transmitted from 1–2 days before the rash appears until all the blisters have crusted over. Patients with shingles can transmit the disease for a week after the rash develops.

The hospital article notes that transmission of the virus is via airborne droplets and that the infected person is contagious to others 1–2 days before the rash appears and throughout the period of skin rash, approximately 10 days after the first eruption. It further explains that if chickenpox was contracted in childhood in the classic way, "one cannot become infected a second time" and that the virus remains in a latent state in nerve cells and may reactivate as herpes zoster. The description focuses on contagiousness during active disease and does not present recovered individuals as carriers.

A single infection typically provides long-lasting immunity, making subsequent infections rare. When individuals who have previously contracted chickenpox experience it again, this is referred to as reinfection, and the symptoms are usually milder. The report describes a case confirmed clinically and by laboratory tests in a person with a previous history of chickenpox and vaccination.

Apollo Hospitals state that chickenpox spreads easily from person to person through direct contact with fluid from chickenpox blisters, contact with contaminated surfaces, and inhalation of respiratory droplets. They note that the virus is most contagious 1–2 days before the rash appears and until all blisters are crusted, usually about 5–7 days after rash onset. The article mentions that repeat chickenpox infections are rare, occurring mainly after mild first infection or immune problems, but it does not describe people with prior varicella acting as asymptomatic carriers after mere contact.

The article describes that the incubation period of chickenpox is on average 10–21 days after contact with a sick person and that chickenpox is most contagious from 1–2 days before the rash appears until all vesicles form crusts. It states that after illness, the body develops lifelong immunity against reinfection, though the virus remains latent in nerve cells and may rarely reactivate. It mentions rare repeat infections in people with HIV, organ transplants or a very mild first illness, but it does not state that normally immune individuals transmit varicella to others after contact.

In a Q&A section, the infectious disease specialist writes that after recovery from chickenpox, "a permanent, lifelong immunity is created" and that repeat cases are very rare. She explains that if a pregnant woman has previously had chickenpox and has antibodies, then upon contact with the virus she will not become ill and the fetus will also be protected. The answer implies that previously infected, immune individuals do not develop disease or act as typical sources of new varicella infections after contact.

Varicella-zoster virus establishes lifelong latency after chickenpox; later reactivation causes shingles, not a chronic carrier state that transmits varicella after a new exposure. A person with prior chickenpox can rarely get varicella again through reinfection, but the usual post-chickenpox state is latency rather than becoming a contagious carrier after contact with an infected person.

Chickenpox isn't like some other diseases where you can be a carrier, spreading it without showing symptoms yourself. A person with chickenpox is generally contagious from 1 to 2 days before the rash appears until all the chickenpox blisters have crusted over. In summary, while it's unlikely that you'll become a carrier of chickenpox just by visiting someone with the virus, there's a considerable risk of contracting it if you're not immune.