A person cannot get shingles from someone who has shingles, but they can get chickenpox.
Shingles usually only affects people who have had chickenpox in the past. In rare cases, shingles develops in children who have had the chickenpox vaccine. Doctors do not know what reactivates VZV, but some things make it more likely.
Risk factors for developing shingles include:
- not having the chickenpox vaccine, also known as the varicella-zoster vaccine
- having chickenpox in the first year of life
- having a biological parent who developed chickenpox when pregnant
- having a compromised or weakened immune system
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