There is some evidence to suggest that it may be possible, although it’s commonly believed that you can’t get chickenpox again.
What’s the evidence?
US studies conducted from 1995 to 1999 found that 4.5 to 13% of people diagnosed with chickenpox reported that they’d had the condition before.
Other US studies have found that, after having chickenpox, some people don’t develop the antibodies needed to protect them against reinfection. For example:
- From a report in 1996: tests on adults who reported having chickenpox showed that 97 to 99% of them had developed antibodies.
- From a report in 2007: tests showed that, after having chickenpox, 75% of children aged one to four had developed immunity, compared with 100% of adults aged 20 to 29.
Experts therefore agree that if you’ve already had chickenpox, it’s very likely that you will have developed antibodies.
How might someone get chickenpox again?
There are several theories that could explain how someone might get chickenpox more than once. For example:
- Many medical professionals believe that the person’s condition was misdiagnosed first time around, and that they had another condition with similar symptoms.
- There may be a genetic link. In the US studies mentioned above, around half of the people who reported having chickenpox before said that other members of their family had also had chickenpox more than once.
- There may be more than one strain of the chickenpox virus. If this is the case, it may be possible for someone to be infected by a different strain each time. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory.
Further information:
