will not be allowed to work from day 8 thru day 28 after exposure. Shingles is caused by the varicella-zoster virus — the same virus that causes chickenpox. How can shingles be prevented in the healthcare setting? Shingles in a healthcare worker Workers should not care for high-risk patients until lesions have crusted over. Find a health service. Shingles flowchart for healthcare professionals Ref: PHE publications gateway number 2018720 PDF , 146KB , 1 page This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), with support by the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), recommends that healthcare institutions ensure that all healthcare workers have evidence of … Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Victorian health services. After you get chickenpox, the virus stays in your body for several years without causing any symptoms. Shingles occurs when the virus becomes active again. Although shingles can occur anywhere on your body, it most often appears as a single stripe of blisters that wraps around either the left or the right side of your torso. What happens if an employee has shingles? The rashes scab over and eventually disappear. Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox (varicella-zoster). Other patients can be cared for as long as lesions can be adequately covered. Shingles is a painful rash. Find a health service. Employees may be advised to have laboratory testing done and may be excluded from work as above. Shingles is still contagious as long as … Shingles also causes a headache and fever in some people. Non-immune exposed employees should contact the Workplace Health Call Centre Occupational Health Nurse (WHCC OHN). The active virus travels along a nerve to your skin and causes a rash.