Over 90% of Singaporeans aged 50 and above have been exposed to the chickenpox virus,¹ and 1 in 3 adults are at risk of getting shingles in their lifetime.^2*. If you are 50 years of age or older, your risk of shingles increases due to age-related decline in immunity (ARDI) which allows the virus to reactivate.^2-4 Other risk factors of shingles include: 

• Chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and chronic kidney disease^4,5
• Other certain infections (e.g. COVID-19)⁶
• Physical or psychological stress^4,5
• A family history of shingles⁵
• Having a weakened immune system due to a disease (e.g. cancer) or taking certain medications that weaken your immunity like steroids, after organ transplantation, and anti-cancer drugs⁷

*Based on US population data

References:
1. Fatha, N., Ang, L. W., & Goh, K. T. (2014). Changing seroprevalence of varicella zoster virus infection in a Tropical City State, Singapore. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 22, 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2013.10.003
2. Harpaz R, et al. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2008 June;57(RR-5):1-30.
3. Lal H, et al. N Engl J Med 2015;372:2087–2096.
4. Chen et al. BMC Infectious Diseases (2017) 17:213 DOI 10.1186/s12879-017-2198-y
5. Marra F, et al. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2020 Jan; 7(1): ofaa005.
6. Bhavsar A, et al. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 9, Issue 5, May 2022, ofac118, https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofac118
7. Dworkin RH, et al. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Jan;44(suppl 1):S1-26.

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