Introduction

In the world, there are numerous diseases which can cause a life-threatening situation, and it can be prevented in a way within our own body. That is the immune system, which fights any foreign matter entering our body. The immune system is a complex system which involves a lot of mechanisms and events. Some of it will be discussed here. As mentioned, the immune system is essential and will fight diseases such as chickenpox. Chickenpox is a disease that is mainly spread from one person to the next. It can affect any age group and can be life-threatening. Chickenpox is caused by the Varicella-zoster virus. Chickenpox is a skin disease which causes a spotty rash and itchiness.¹ Chickenpox normally stays from 1-3 weeks, and when the immune system is weakened, it can be fatal.¹ In some people, chickenpox can only occur once, which causes the immune system to be immune to the virus. However, in people with weakened immune systems, it can be fatal. Most interestingly, chickenpox can occur again, so it is important to understand about chickenpox and the prevention factors.

The Immune Response to Chickenpox

Initial Immune Reaction

Chickenpox can happen once in life, and the body’s immune system would remember the virus. Chickenpox is spread to an individual through airborne droplets from coughing or sneezing and direct skin contact.² Once the virus enters the body system, the early stage of infection starts. The early stage of the infection involves the innate immune system, which is the first line of defense against foreign matter.³ In chickenpox, immunoglobulins play an important role, and the types of immunoglobulins that are involved include:

• IgG (2)
• IgM (2)
• IgA (2)

The response of these immunoglobulins is important as it will determine the duration of chickenpox. In case the innate immune system fails, the adaptive immune system is activated. The adaptive immune system is a slower process compared to the innate immune system.⁴ Thus, it causes the activation of T-cells and B-cells. 

Formation of Memory Cells

The adaptive immune system is responsible for preventing chickenpox from occurring again in life. The adaptive immune system involves some events, which include the production of T cells and T helper cells.⁴ The T-cells initiate the adaptive immune response by detecting the foreign matter and fighting the infection.⁴ Once it has fought the infection, the T helper cells will turn into memory cells.⁴ The other role of T cells is to activate the B-cells, which will create plasma cells, and these cells would multiply and fight the infection.⁴ Furthermore, some of the activated B cells would turn into memory cells.⁴ The memory cells would prevent future chickenpox from happening.

Long-Term Effects on the Immune System

Immunity to Future Chickenpox Infections

The immune system would prevent chickenpox from occurring again in the future because of the memory cells within the body. The memory cells would notify the virus and hinder the virus from affecting the body again. On the other hand, there is chickenpox vaccination available for people who have weakened immune systems. The vaccine consists of a live attenuated Varicella-zoster virus.⁵ The vaccine would activate the IgG immune response, which would then activate C4+ T helper cells and CD8+ T-lymphocyte cells.⁵ These would fight against the chickenpox virus. The comparison between these ways of immune response is that the vaccination immune response is up to 10 years after administration.⁵ While, the adaptive immune response happening within the body is lifelong protection against chickenpox.

Reactivation of the Virus: Shingles

For everyone’s awareness the chickenpox can appear again in a lifetime and in other words the virus can be reactivated. However, the reactivated virus comes in a form called shingles. Initially, let's go back to the primary infection phase, where the Varicella virus would spread to the local sensory nerves through the mucosal and epidermal lesions.² Thereafter, the virus would persist latent within the dorsal ganglion cells of the sensory nerves.² This would make sure that the virus is kept watched until further attack from the virus. 

As mentioned, the virus can be reactivated and the virus can appear as shingles or Herpes zoster. Shingles can appear due to failure in the immune system and this normally happens in elderly people, whose immune system is weakened.⁶  

Potential Complications and Immune System Impact

Immunocompromised Individuals

Chickenpox can be at risk in individuals, such as:

• Nonimmune pregnant women
• Immunity weakened individuals e.g young children and elderly people

Death can occur in these individuals, because their immune system is weakened and it will not fight the virus as it should do. 

Impact on Overall Immune Health

Chickenpox can cause other effects on the body, especially in adults and immunity weakened individuals.⁷ In adults, when the chickenpox is severe, it can lead to pneumonia.. In individuals with a weakened immune system, such as cancer and AIDS patients, meningitis or encephalitis can occur.⁷  

The immune system would be immune to the Varicella virus, which means that the individuals who have had chickenpox previously would not get the chickenpox again. 

Prevention and Management of Immune Effects

Chickenpox can be prevented and managed through vaccination and management of the disease. Chickenpox vaccination would be given to anyone who has a weak immune system and it would last for a short period of time. The vaccination would be given in two doses and it helps the individuals to get it when coming in contact with anyone with the virus. Also, vaccination can reduce the effects of the virus.⁸  

Discussion

Chickenpox is a virus which can cause skin rash and itchiness. It can be fatal in individuals with weakened immune systems. Thus, it is important to understand it. In this article, the important facts about chickenpox have been mentioned. 

Chickenpox is a virus which can enter the body and activate the innate and adaptive immune system. The immune system would activate the T cells and B cells, which would fight the virus and produce memory cells. These memory cells would make the body immune to chickenpox. However, the chickenpox virus can be reactivated and lead to shingles. Mostly, this happens in individuals who have a weakened immune system. In most cases, chickenpox can be cured, but can actually be fatal in immunity-weakened individuals. Vaccinations can be given to these individuals to lessen the effect of the virus. Thus reducing the mortality rate caused by chickenpox and shingles. 

To reduce the amount of mortality caused by chickenpox, the chicken pox and its prevention or management has to be known to everyone. Chickenpox can affect any individual, from babies to elderly people.