Disseminated herpes zoster (aka disseminated shingles) is an infection caused by the Herpes varicella zoster virus. This is the same virus that causes herpes zoster (aka shingles)

Herpes zoster

Herpes zoster , commonly known as shingles and also known as zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a limited area on one side of the body, often in a stripe...

 and chickenpox

Chickenpox

Chickenpox or chicken pox is a highly contagious illness caused by primary infection with varicella zoster virus . It usually starts with vesicular skin rash mainly on the body and head rather than at the periphery and becomes itchy, raw pockmarks, which mostly heal without scarring...

. Disseminated herpes zoster is defined as more than twenty skin lesions outside the affected dermatome; but other organs, such as the liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

 or brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

 may also be affected (causing hepatitis

Hepatitis

Hepatitis is a medical condition defined by the inflammation of the liver and characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. The name is from the Greek hepar , the root being hepat- , meaning liver, and suffix -itis, meaning "inflammation"...

 or encephalitis

Encephalitis

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis with meningitis is known as meningoencephalitis. Symptoms include headache, fever, confusion, drowsiness, and fatigue...

 respectively), and the condition may be life-threatening.

See also

• Ophthalmic zoster
  Ophthalmic zoster
  Ophthalmic zoster is a cutaneous condition, a specific type of herpes zoster affecting the ophthalmic division of the fifth cranial nerve.- See also :* Disseminated herpes zoster* Inflammatory skin lesions following zoster infection...
  
  
• Inflammatory skin lesions following zoster infection
  Inflammatory skin lesions following zoster infection
  Inflammatory skin lesions following zoster infection is a cutaneous condition that may occur following zoster, characterized by skin lesions within the affected dermatome....
  
  
• Skin lesion