All adults aged 60 and older should be vaccinated against shingles, a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended on Thursday.

The ZOSTAVAX vaccine for shingles reduces the chance of developing shingles for those 60 and up, though the odds get worse with increasing age. The vaccination was recommended by an influential government advisory panel in 2006. The CDC officially adopted the recommendation this week

The ancient Chinese martial art Tai Chi could prevent shingles, a new study shows. Recent research found that seniors who took tai chi classes had twice the level of immunity against the painful skin rash than those who took health education classes instead.

Tai chi has long been known to improve fitness and balance, but researchers are finding it affects the immune system, though the reason for its effect isn't known

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that children should get two shots of chicken pox vaccine instead of one because new research shows that the vaccine stops its effects over time. Many children who were given shots as a chicken pox vaccine in their young age are still seen to get infected by the chicken pox disease suggesting the vaccine can wear off with time.

However, this highly contagious disease has nearly became rarer with the advent of a new vaccine in 1995. According to a new study, only around 11,300 cases of chicken pox were detected over 10 years. Nearly 90 percent of the people who were victim to the disease had not been vaccinated

The longer a person lives the more likely he or she is to develop shingles if that person has already had chickenpox. Among that group, about half of all people who live until age 85, or older, will develop the disease that is characterized by an itch, burning or tingling followed by a fluid-filled blister.

Nearly one million people have shingles every year, with most cases after age 60. The disease is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus lies dormant in the body and scientists are not sure what activates it to cause shingles

n influential government advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, recommended on Wednesday that Americans 60 and older get vaccinated against shingles, an excruciatingly painful rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox.

Shingles, which is caused by the varicella zoster virus, is a blistering skin rash that is most common in older people. It usually goes away after four weeks, but one in five sufferers develops severe long-term nerve pain known as postherpetic neuralgia, whose complications can include scarring and loss of vision or hearing