Hospital Admissions for Herpes Zoster in Portugal Between 2000 and 2010

Herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia increasing incidence is related to ageing. These conditions can be very debilitating and have an important impact in patients’ quality of life. In an ageing population like the Portuguese, is expected that the burden of herpes zoster and post-herpetic neuralgia rises, nevertheless, a specific surveillance system for zoster does not exist in the country, and data regarding the incidence of herpes zoster and the burden of the disease in Portugal in the last decades was not found. In Portugal, the vaccine is still not available.