The Historic Unraveling of Shingles

Shingles has historically puzzled scientists due to its elusive connection to chickenpox. In the 1960s, Edgar Hope Simpson, a dedicated family doctor, investigated the relationship between the two diseases, particularly how someone with shingles might transmit chickenpox. His groundbreaking work began when he read about an outbreak of chickenpox linked to a schoolteacher with shingles on a remote Shetland Island. Simpson's hands-on approach, including contact tracing and meticulous record-keeping, helped establish that shingles could indeed lead to chickenpox, thereby confirming the connection between the diseases.