Chickenpox

Chickenpox, also known as varicella, is a highly contagious disease caused by the initial infection with varicella zoster virus (VZV). The disease results in a characteristic skin rash that forms small, itchy blisters, which eventually scab over. It usually starts on the chest, back, and face then spreads to the rest of the body. Other symptoms may include fever, feeling tired, and headaches. Symptoms usually last five to ten days. Complications may occasionally include pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, or bacterial infections of the skin among others. The disease is often more severe in adults than children. Symptoms begin ten to twenty one days after exposure to the virus.

Chickenpox is an airborne disease which spreads easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person. It may be spread from one to two days before the rash appears until all lesions have crusted over. It may also spread through contact with the blisters. Those with shingles may spread chickenpox to those who are not immune through contact with the blisters. The disease can usually be diagnosed based on the presenting symptom; however, in unusual cases may be confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of the blister fluid or scabs. Testing for antibodies may be done to determine if a person is or is not immune. People usually only get the disease once.

Varicella (disambiguation)

Varicella may refer to:

See also

Varicella (video game)

Varicella is a 1999 work of interactive fiction by Adam Cadre, distributed in z-code format as freeware. It is set in an alternate history which features roughly modern technology mixed with Renaissance-style principalities and court politics. The characters of Varicella use contemporary language from their home in a Renaissance castle, continuing the contrast between old and new. The player character is Primo Varicella, palace minister in Piedmont, who has to get rid of several rivals for the regency following the death of the king. He was inspired by the Machiavellian protagonist of Profit, but given even more despicable antagonists (just as variola is more virulent than varicella), thus making players willing to go along with his schemes. The international situation in the game is described in passing: Piedmont is part of a loose confederation of kingdoms that make up a Carolingian League and is engaged in a war against the Republic of Venice.

It won four XYZZY Awards in 1999 including the XYZZY Award for Best Game, and was nominated for another four. The game was discussed academically by Nick Montfort and Stuart Moulthrop in their 2003 paper Face It, Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot: Reading and Playing Cadre's Varicella, and by Dr. Wendy Morgan in her 2003 paper Touching (on) Character: New Engagements in New Media Narratives. Cadre himself claimed in a January 2002 interview that it was the best game he had written up to that point: