Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes two distinct clinical diseases, the first one is varicella or commonly known as chickenpox and the other is herpes zoster or shingles. Chickenpox is a ubiquitous and highly contagious disease (infection). But it is usually a benign illness of childhood characterized by an exanthematous vesicular rash.

Varicella-zoster virus:

Varicella-zoster virus is a member of the family Herpesviridae, which shares with other members certain structural characteristics like lipid envelope surrounding a nucleocapsid with icosahedral symmetry, a total diameter of approximately 180–200 nm, and centrally located double-stranded DNA that is approximately125,000 bp in length.

Constipation is a common health problem, especially in the Western world, most probably due to dietary habits and lifestyle. It is difficult to define constipation, due to wide range of normal bowel habits, but in general constipation refers to persistent, difficult, infrequent, or seemingly defecation.

The normal stool frequency also has a wide range, e.g. in Western countries most individuals have at least 3 bowel movements per week, but in developing countries an individual may have as many as three bowel movements per day (due to consumption of natural food with high fiber content) as normal bowel habit. If an American or European has 3 bowel movements a day it can be considered as diarrhea and if an Indian (or from other developing country) has 3 bowel movements per week it can be considered as constipation.That is why low stool frequency alone can not be the sole criterion for the diagnosis of constipation and other factors need to be considered before diagnosing constipation.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal disease. Cholera can cause profound, rapidly progressive dehydration and death within matter of hours. That is the reason cholera (especially cholera gravis or severe form of cholera) was and still is a dreaded disease, especially during epidemics. Fortunately prompt and aggressive fluid replacement along with supportive care can greatly reduce mortality from cholera.

What is the causative agent of cholera?

The causative agent of cholera is Vibrio Cholerae. At present approximately 200 serogroups of V. cholerae are recognized and those are divided into two groups (1) those that agglutinate in antisera to the O1 group antigen (V. cholerae O1) and those that do not (non-O1 V. cholerae). There are two biotypes of V. cholerae, V. cholerae O1, classical and El Tor and each biotype are again subdivided into two serotypes, which are termed Inaba and Ogawa.

The non-cholera vibrios do not cause cholera and include V. parahaemolyticus, Non-O1 V. cholerae, V. vulnificus, V. alginolyticus etc.

Mode of transmission of non-cholera vibrios:

The mode of transmission of non-cholera vibrios is usually by ingestion of seawater of ingestion of undercooked shellfish infested with non-cholera vibrios, because non-cholera vibrios can reach high concentrations in the tissues of shellfish.

Symptoms of non-cholera vibrios infection:

There are two major types of syndromes gastrointestinal illness and soft tissue infections. Very rarely V. vulnificus can lead to sepsis in immune compromised individuals.