Title

Epidemiology of herpes zoster at a tertiary care centre in Eastern India

Authors

Sudipta Biswas¹, Koushik Biswas^2,*, Doyir Bagra¹, Kaushik Shome¹ & Tanusree Sarkar³

Affiliation

¹Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, Burdwan, India; ²Department of Biochemistry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli, India; ³Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprosy, Prafulla Chandra Sen Government Medical College and Hospital, Arambagh, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Sudipta Biswas - E-mail: biswassudipto0406@gmail.com
Koushik Biswas - E-mail: koushik2907@gmail.com; biochem_koushik@aiimsrbl.edu.in

Doyir Bagra - E-mail: doyirbagra@gmail.com
Kaushik Shome - E-mail: shome.doctor@gmail.com
Tanusree Sarkar - E-mail: tanusreesarkar.09@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received February 1, 2026; Revised February 28, 2026; Accepted February 28, 2026, Published February 28, 2026

Abstract

Herpes zoster infection is characterized by dermatomal distribution of painful vesicles occurring due to reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus and poses the risk of serious complications. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate the epidemiology, clinical presentation and outcomes of patients diagnosed with herpes zoster in a tertiary care centre in Eastern India. From June 2023 to December 2024, a series of herpes zoster patients consulting the Dermatology Outpatient Department at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital participated in this cross-sectional study. Detailed history, clinical examination, Tzanck smear, hemogram, fasting plasma glucose and HIV screening were conducted. The significance of early diagnosis, prompt antiviral therapy and appropriate pain management in reducing complications such as postherpetic neuralgia and secondary infections is shown in this study.

Keywords

Herpes zoster (HZ), post-herpetic neuralgia, varicella zoster virus (VZV), clinico-epidemiological study, India

Citation

Biswas et al. Bioinformation 22(2): 1085-1090 (2026)

Edited by

P Kangueane

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.