Dear Doctor;

I have just been cured of chicken pox a fortnight ago. Does that mean I am carrying the agent in dormant form? I was not in the country when the infection came and I got treatment from there. Are my family members likely to get the infection from me? Concerned Woman.

Dear Concerned Woman, 

Once somebody acquires chicken pox, antibodies against the virus are formed in the body making one immune to the infection for life time. Only somebody very weak due to cancer, HIV, among others, type of illness can be infected second time. Any germs remaining in the body are rendered inactive and cannot multiply. 

An individual with infection is most likely to transmit the disease when the eruptions are drying and breaking. Because ,the causative virus is shed at that time. Moreover, at this time, the person starts feeling good and starts moving around mingling with people, thus increasing chances of transmitting the infection. Family members can be infected if they have been in close contact with you or soiled linen, among others, at this time. Vaccine is available to protect against chicken pox but is not effective if somebody has already acquired the infection.